IMANI Africa Vice President Kofi Bentil has called on government to take a tougher stance in the fight against illegal mining, urging the state to go beyond security interventions and target land ownership.
“Go beyond security zones, it is good but not enough, let the state confiscate the lands,” Bentil said during a panel discussion on The Key Points on TV3, Saturday, September 27. He argued that declaring illegal mining areas as security zones is a step in the right direction, but lasting impact requires reclaiming the lands from the chiefs who own them.
His remarks come at a time when the government’s anti-galamsey efforts are drawing both support and criticism.
In a related discussion on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Economic Advisor at the Office of the Vice President, Professor Sharif Mahmud Khalid, defended President Mahama’s approach to dealing with illegal mining, calling for a fairer assessment of government actions.
He dismissed claims that the President has been inactive, insisting that concrete steps have been taken since he assumed office. “If the President were sitting idle and had never taken any step in the last nine months since assuming office, then… But here’s a case where he is putting prudent measures in place. You don’t take one decision and think that would be the end of it,” he argued.
Professor Khalid pointed to the recent wave of arrests as evidence of government’s determination to disrupt illegal mining networks. “His promise was to go after the kingpins. But if you start with 1,400 arrests, you are snowballing towards the kingpins, because they are connected to the workers. These arrests are the first initiation that would snowball to the arrest of the kingpins,” he explained.
He also urged for a pragmatic approach that includes conditional amnesty for those willing to cooperate with authorities. “It is only prudent to say that if you can lead us to your boss, help us, we would give some amnesty to you,” he noted, adding that retraining illegal miners and equipping them with artisanal skills would help reintegrate them into the economy.
Professor Khalid further called for a bipartisan effort to tackle the menace, urging critics to cut the President some slack and support a collective national strategy.
