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‘Galamseyers’ operate at night too – Okyenhene

The Okyenhene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin has revealed that persons, who indulge in small

scale illegal mining also known as galamsey, do not only operate during the day, but also at

night.

According to him, when the illegal miners are prevented from operating during the day, they

continue when everyone is asleep.

“These guys have come from Mali, Niger, China and when we stop them during the day time, at

night they go to work. So you may see a place where there is no destruction, but by the time you

wake up…it’s been mined. Within two hours, these guys can do whatever damage they want to

do,” he lamented.

I don’t do galamsey

They Okyenhene took advantage of the interview to also dismiss allegations leveled against him

by some of his subjects that he engages in the illegal activity within the Akyem Abuakwa states.

Ofori Panin rubbished the claims and described his critics as either having “small minds” or

being “mischievous.”

“It’s either people are ignorant, or they have small minds, evil, mischievous, or playing or they

are stupid to think that I will be involved in this [galamsey]. I grew up in Akwaita, I saw the

destruction there after I came back from overseas.

I saw the destruction in Tarkwa and Bogosu, I

had been around this country, there is no town that we can represent and say that there was gold

here and that town had benefited. So why anybody with my education and my reputation get

down and tolerate this. When you see good people and they are honest and they go out and do

their own things, it is different things from people obeying you and seeing your authority and

going underneath to do something else,” he added.

The chief made the comment on the back of intense pressure which has been mounted on

government in recent times to stop illegal miners from polluting water bodies and farmlands.

Analysts have predicted that Ghana may soon import water if the trend persists.

This is because a number of water treatment plants have been shut down because their source of

water has been rendered useless due to galamsey activities.

SHAPING THE NATION