Don’t fear galamsey force – Minister

Deputy Minister of Defence, Major Derrick Oduro, has asked members of all the mining communities across the country not to be frightened by the presence of the joint military-police task force deployed to those areas to fight illicit small-scale mining activities (galamsey).

According to him, the presence of the taskforce in these communities is to ensure law and order and deal with miscreants who are damaging the environment and water bodies through galamsey.

The government on Monday July 31 launched Operation Vanguard before the deployment of the 400 joint military and police taskforce.

The Akufo-Addo government has resolved to uproot galamsey which is destroying water bodies, forests, and crop farms. The crusade is being led by Lands and Natural Resources Minister John Peter Amewu who says the “government is not anti-mining at all but we are a government that believes that the current methodology that is applied in the process is wrong, cruel and wicked to human generations in this country”.

Speaking on this development in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM on Tuesday, 1 August, Mr Oduro said: “The miscreants are putting fear into the people that the military and the police are going to evict them from the communities and even harm them. I will want to assure everybody that the taskforce will not harm anybody or drive anybody from the communities.

“They are only there to ensure law and order and prevent the deviants from engaging in their questionable activities, and, so, nobody should be frightened unless you are engaged in galamsey.

“I will entreat that the community members respect and cooperate with the taskforce.”

Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com