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The Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nana Ama Browne Klutse, has called for a state of emergency to tackle the growing menace of illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
According to her, the situation has escalated into a national security threat, endangering Ghana’s land, forests, water bodies, and even lives.
The call by EPA for government to declare a state of emergency in the fight against galamsey is the first time a state entity has publicly backed the teh stated of emergency calls.
Speaking on the Probe on JoyNews which closely monitored by Elvisanokyenews.net, Nana Ama Browne Klutse stressed that no single institution can effectively combat the crisis alone.
“I believe we are at war, and the fight against these illegal activities cannot be handled by a single institution. In fact, it is bigger than any one institution, and our capacity alone is not enough to combat this issue. The EPA has only 777 employees, and when you consider the scale of illegal mining alone, let alone other activities under the EPA’s jurisdiction it is clear that our resources are insufficient.” She stated
She revealed that the Forestry commission despite collaborating with other state security agencies also faces severe challenges, as some of its staff have been attacked and even killed by armed illegal miners operating in restricted forest areas.
“Illegal mining has now become a national security threat. The Forestry Commission is unable to access certain forests because armed illegal miners operate there. We have even lost forestry commission staff, though this information is not yet public.
“The Forestry Commission employs forest guards, but they are not as well-armed as the illegal miners. The Forestry Commission works with the national security, they work with the military in the fight against illegal mining and you can see clearly see their efforts, but it’s not meeting up to the illegalities out there.” She said
She further lamented the alarming pollution levels of major rivers across the country, hence her call for the government to declare the fight against galamsey a national emergency.
“They should issued a statement on mining in our water bodies, that all activities in that category must stop because every activity or mining in our water bodies is completely illegal. There’s no license is given for any person or group of persons to mine in our water bodies, so it’s a no-go area. That is one thing I did immediately because we know how much our water bodies have been polluted.
“Virtually every major river in the country is polluted, so it is a state of emergency for our river bodies. Looking at this national security threat to our land, to our forest, to our communities, to our staff, to even staff of Forestry Commission and every other Ghanaian, this is a threat to us, I will support the fact that the president should declare state of emergency for the illegal mining activities.” She said.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.net
