The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has taken a swipe at the nation’s leaders for allowing illegal mining activities to flourish to degrade the environment for political opportunism.
According to him, illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, has become pernicious to the nation through the destruction of aquatic lives, pollution of water bodies and depletion of natural resource at the fastest rate.
“Yes, our youth need jobs but it’s certainly not at the expense of the environment. Our politicians are aware of the ongoing destruction, yet they are looking on askance; they are unable to ask the youth to stop the illegal activities because they want their votes. We need to be truthful”, angry Otumfuo noted.
The Asantehene disclosed this while speaking at the inauguration of Asanko Gold Ghana (Limited), Ghana’s newest mining company at Obotan in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region on Tuesday.
“Our lands are being degraded every day; the water bodies are being destroyed. We need to stop the youth now. Certainly, we can’t allow them to continue with this galamsey,” the Asantehene charged.
He said most of the young people into galamsey lack the basic skills and knowledge to engage in mining and called on the sector ministry to make arrangement to regularise the activities of the illegal miners.
He criticized the country’s politicians for their hypocrisy and double standards in tackling galamsey, pointing out that the invasion of AngloGold Ashanti’s concession by illegal miners was a major problem for the mining company.
Otumfuo said that some chiefs were covertly behind the activities of illegal miners and warned those involved to stop or face the full rigours of the law since they derive their power from him.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asanko Gold Ghana, Peter Breese stated that the building of Asanko Gold mine had not been without unique challenges and complexities, indicating that the company dewatered over 6 million cubic metres of water, engaged in pre-stripping of more than 21 million tonnes of waste and managed the safety of over 2,500 workers as well as resettlement of 88 households to new site.
“It is therefore testament to our teamwork and strength of relationships we have established with our key stakeholders and contractors,” he asserted.
He expressed his gratitude to the Asanko project team and other stakeholders for achieving the milestone, arguing that the development of the mine was a great catalyst for empowerment and value creation.
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