Galamsey Menace: Chief Accuses Western Regional Minister, Deputy Lands Minister And MCE Of Being Brains Behind

• A Chief in the Western Region has accused some top officials of the Akufo-Addo government of being behind the illegal mining menace
• The Dompim-Pepesa chief said he has evidence to the effect that the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, a deputy Lands Minister, Mireku-Duker, and the Tarkwa MCE, are involved
• Despite receiving several death threats, Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV said he would do whatever was within his power to ensure the canker was stopped within his jurisdiction

The Chief of Dompim-Pepesa in the Western Region has made a startling revelation and disclosed the identities of some government officials in the Akufo-Addo government as the brains behind the illegal mining menace.

According to Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV, incontrovertible evidence available to him indicates that the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Deputy Lands Minister George Mireku Duker, and the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Chief Executive, Benjamin Kessie, are behind the menace in parts of the Western Region.

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Speaking to Accra-based Joy News, the traditional leader decried the impact of galamsey in the area and dared the trio to sue him if they believed he was damaging their reputation without proof.

“I know not of any company but I know of the very people who are behind the operations of ‘galamsey’ in my area. …They said they were going to sue, so let them sue. I’ll let out my arsenals at the right time,” he alleged.

Despite receiving several death threats due to his stance, the chief vowed to do whatever he could to ensure an end to the galamsey canker, which has ravaged the forest cover and other water bodies in the Western region.

“If you come here to visit Dompim-Pepesa, what is happening is very disastrous. That is what I can say for now…..It is more serious than before and my heart is bleeding,” he lamented.

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The Western Region has been tagged one of the worst affected galamsey regions in the country.

The region, which used to boast of its lush green cover and crystal clear water bodies, has borne the brunt of the illegal mining menace, which has left the environment destroyed and the water bodies heavily polluted by the metals used to mine for the gold.

This allegation by the chief of Dompim-Pepesa will not be the first time some officials of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been accused of complicity in the galamsey menace.

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has reiterated the commitment of his government to halt the illegal mining menace.

At a stakeholder engagement with the National House of Chiefs, the President said the only way the country can win the fight against the menace will only be through a nationalistic approach.

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Operation Halt Burns Galamsey Office Of NPP Women's Organiser

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the National Women’s Organiser of the NPP, Kate Gyamfua, has had her office that oversees the operations of her mining company burnt by the military task force on illegal mining.

There are reports that the burning of the office did not come easy, as reports by Joy News indicated that the security officers protecting the office of Kate Gyamfua resisted advances by the military detail.

Source: YEN.com.gh