The five-member ad hoc ministerial committee that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo constituted to engage stakeholders in evaluating the government’s efforts to address illegal mining activities, commonly known as galamsey, has been characterised by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) as dead on arrival.
Speaking during Channel One TV’s “I Stand Against Galamsey” campaign, General Secretary Thomas Musah of GNAT hinted that the five members would not be bringing anything novel to the galamsey battle.
Albert Kan-Dapaah, the minister of national security, was named head of the committee by President Akufo-Addo on Friday, September 13. Four other ministers will support him.
However, GNAT stated that the ministers, the majority of whom are running in the elections scheduled for December 7, will have very little time to interact with the galamsey concerns.
“The constitution of the new committee by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is dead on arrival because the only new person there is the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations and these ministers will soon go and contest in their various constituencies and there is no way they will get time to get this thing done.
“In any case, the promise [to end galamsey] was made by the president and not ministers and we have gone past this stage already and therefore the invitation by the committee for us to meet them on Tuesday is a non-starter and we are asking that a state of emergency must be declared given the evidence that we have.”
GNAT also made five demands, including the following;
1. Immediately declare a state of emergency.
2. Evacuate all mining equipment from forest reserves and water bodies.
3. Revoke Law 2462 and withdraw all mining and prospecting licenses in forests, protected reserves, and water bodies.
4. Deploy Police and Military to remove and destroy all mining and earth-moving equipment in river bodies and forest reserves.
5. Establish a special court to prosecute those involved in illegal mining (Galamsey).
