The District Chief Executive for Amansie West, Mr. Alex Kwame Bonsu, has bemoaned the spate of illegal mining, indicating that the former had gained root such that it was difficult for the Assembly to stop the youth from engaging in it.

" /> Ghana Districts: A repository of all Local Assemblies in Ghana
NEWS ARCHIVE 2010 - 14

AMANSIE W: DCE decries spate of illegal mining

The District Chief Executive for Amansie West, Mr. Alex Kwame Bonsu, has bemoaned the spate of illegal mining, indicating that the former had gained root such that it was difficult for the Assembly to stop the youth from engaging in it.


Date Created : 5/20/2014 10:55:42 AM : Story Author : GhanaDistrict.Com

The District Chief Executive for Amansie West, Mr. Alex Kwame Bonsu, has bemoaned the spate of illegal mining, indicating that the former had gained root such that it was difficult for the Assembly to stop the youth from engaging in it.

He reported that even though the Small Scale Mining Association is mobilizing funds to purchase heavy duty machines to reclaim some of the destroyed lands, efforts to stop them from destroying and degrading the virgin land by the Assembly has yielded negative results.

This occured when an 18-member Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment, Science and Technology paid a working visit to Amansie West District to interact with stakeholders on how best to find a lasting solution to land and water bodies being destroyed by illegal gold miners, popularly called galamsey operators.

The DCE thanked the Parliamentary Select Committee for the visit to the sites, which afforded them the opportunity to get first-hand information about the activities of galamsey operators.

The committee later interacted with the stakeholders, who include chiefs, assembly members, heads of departments, officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Minerals Commission, and Association of Small Scale Mining operators.

Meanwhile, a meeting of stakeholders suggested the establishment of District Office at Manso-Nkwanta.

The stakeholders further  suggested that the EPA and the Minerals Commission should educate galamsey operators on the need to protect our land and water bodies, and a District Assembly taskforce be formed to enforce and monitor the activities of galamsey operators in the district.

The Committee, led by its Chairman, Mr. Simon Edem Asimah, Member of Parliament for South Dayi constituency in the Volta Region, and the Ranking Member, Mr. Francis Addai Nimoh, Member of Parliament for Mampong, visited some of the selected sites at Manso-Nkwanta.

They thus expressed worry about the rate at which land and water bodies are been destroyed by galamsey operators, without efforts at reclaiming them.