Illegal mining, widely known as galamsey, remains one of Ghana’s most pressing national security concerns.
According to Mustapha Gbande, Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the problem transcends party lines and permeates religious, media, legal, and political institutions.
“There are various actors in it. NDC people are involved. NPP people are involved. Pastors are involved. Lawyers are involved. Journalists are involved. It’s a multifaceted industry which has given birth to people’s wealth”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary
Gbande maintained that “people have used galamsey money to go to law school,” and some others have used galamsey proceeds for political ambitions like getting into parliament.
Criticising the legacy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gbande revealed that under former President Akufo-Addo, more than 2,000 mining leases were issued, far exceeding the roughly 102 approved under President John Dramani Mahama.
“NPP has done mining for eight years. The same president is the one who also issued licenses for people to mine in the forest reserves. We have not done reclamation. The damage is still there”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary
He further warned that although President Mahama is only a few months into office, expectations of his administration against galamsey must be realistic.
“Do we expect President Mahama within the last three months to begin to fight?”
Complicity and Reforms
Gbande sharply criticised law enforcement’s entanglement with illegal mining actors across the country.
“If you go to the mining communities, all the police officers there have incentivized galamsey because they are all in bed with the galamseyers. That’s serious and yes, I’m saying it”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary
In response, he confirmed a major policy move by the new Mahama administration.
“First, the Minister of Interior has ordered that ‘change all the police commanders from the mining area’ so that new people will go there. At least familiarity which is supposed to be breeding contempt would be out”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary
He explained this order coupled with the changes that have been made in the security agencies, especially the military and the police service, are setting the stage for the kind of action needed to properly fight Galamsey.
“Can we get to a point where we have special courts? If you are arrested from a pit, straight to Accra, taken to a court to convict you or give you an ultimatum to go and reclaim the land you have damaged”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary
Gbande advocated that the establishment of special courts would strengthen the government’s position in deterring galamsey offenders.
He further proposed an aggressive audit of every galamsey operation in the country insisting that the “communities know the people,” involved and should be made to give them up for the law to take its due course.
Gbande insisted that the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) possess the records to pinpoint responsibility.
“When you are going to mine, you first of all will have to go to the Minerals Commission, they’ll do a cadastral plan, then they give you a mining lease. So if you undertake irresponsible mining, we should investigate and arrest you”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary
Legal Framework
Responding to critics of recent legal reforms, Gbande clarified the intent behind the amended Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462. He defended the amendment in no uncertain terms.
“There was an L.I that allowed free for all – Go and mine, you have been given licenses. Chinese were given the opportunity to go and do these things.
“There’s another L.I that says that ‘I’m restricting 90% assets from the forest reserves,’ and people say that ‘oh, you should repeal everything.’ Why didn’t they tell President Akufo-Addo at the time to repeal?”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary
Gbande stressed that President Mahama is not fighting the galamsey crisis as a party issue, but as a national obligation that wouldn’t spare anyone found guilty on any side.
“We just need time for the government to take off properly,” he said, dismissing calls for immediate results from the NPP and other naysayers.
“The reality is that when you are capturing videos of galamsey destruction, you wouldn’t separate what has happened in the last eight years under President Akufo-Addo from the ones that are happening in the last three months under President Mahama.
“You’ll capture everything and what you’ll see is an increment in the destruction”
Mustapha Gbande, NDC Deputy General Secretary
In his view, the solution demands tactical, sustained field operations, not political soundbites and the current administration was equipping itself for the task ahead.
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