Former Minister for Environment, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has accused political actors of fueling the persistence of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, despite repeated government interventions.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng said the problem is sustained by individuals “high up” in political circles, including party foot soldiers who feel entitled to benefit when their party is in power.
“It is people in the political parties that are doing these things,” he explained on TV3’s KeyPoints.
“These are people we can’t stop. They are foot soldiers. “They are saying that their party has come, it’s time for them to also enjoy — and so they are enjoying. And it is difficult for the government or party to stop them. If we want to stop it now, it can be stopped.”
He questioned the usefulness of launching new anti-galamsey initiatives, citing past efforts that yielded little results.
“I believe there is no need to launch anything. We have had many launches in the past. Even this time we have launched Blue Water Guards. What happened to them?”
His comment comes on the back of the helicopter crash, which occurred while government officials and navy officers were on a flight heading to Obuasi to launch an anti-galamsey initiative.
