A security analyst is sceptical about government’s commitment to fighting illegal mining (galamsey).
From where he stands, government is benefiting from the activities and is not willing to nip it in the bud.
Speaking on The Big Issue, the President of the Institute for Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies, Dr. Ishmael Norman said “If anyone says the National Security is working, I will say, look the other way because nothing seems to be working. What is the outcome of all the money government has supposedly invested to curb the menace? We do not want to solve problems in this country, we only want to talk about them. These problems actually are cash cows for some people.”
“The more such crisis are prolonged, the more people make money out of it. Nobody wants the galamsey problem to go away. Those who have access to power don’t want the problem to go away.”
He further made his point by saying that, government, fully aware of its “incapability” to create jobs for the youth is allowing galamsey to go on, so a chunk of the youth can be absorbed.
“The galamsey problem is a very good excuse for the government. The more government can pack the youth in there, the better it is for them because they do not have to deal with their unemployment. Government doesn’t want to really solve the problem.”
“I do not think President Akufo-Addo wants the problem to go away. Yes, he will talk about it, but won’t solve it. He cannot and will not solve the problem.”
The debate surrounding galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang, has been reignited after she was recently arrested and remanded into police custody over illegal mining.
Reports indicate that Aisha came to Ghana from a neighbouring country through a land border.
Upon her arrival, she also acquired a Ghana card in February 2022 with a new name, Huang En.