Galamsey fight: Nothing different, meaningful has been done since Mahama took over — Manasseh Azure

Investigative journalist and writer, Manasseh Azure Awuni, says he is yet to see any new or effective approach adopted in the fight against illegal small-scale mining, commonly known as galamsey, under President John Mahama’s administration.

He acknowledged that the current government has rolled out initiatives such as the river guards under the Blue Water initiative, sent military personnel into forest reserves, and made arrests.

However, speaking at the Anatomy of Returnee Presidency series organised by the Gold Coast University on Friday, May 9, Manasseh said similar actions were taken under past administrations without any meaningful results.

“I’m not very enthused until we get to the implementation. Ban illegal mining, launch tree and water initiatives – these are not new. I have done stories about the tree planting in northern Ghana under SADA, and I know it was a failure,” he said.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing that is being done differently from what we’ve seen before. It’s still the same approach – send soldiers in, arrest a few people – and in some ways, it’s even worse now,” he added.

A new policy introduced by Interior Minister Muntaka Mubarak seeks to deport foreigners engaged in criminal activities, including illegal mining, instead of prosecuting them.

Speaking in Accra on Friday, April 4, the minister explained that the aim is to swiftly remove foreign nationals who contribute to environmental degradation and other crimes.

But Manasseh disagreed, saying the deportation policy lacks logic, especially when foreign nationals, mainly Chinese, are allowed to leave without facing prosecution.

“It is even worse now that the government has made it a policy not to prosecute the Chinese. I’m saying Chinese because they are the foreigners who are often asked to go home peacefully. This, for me, doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Manasseh stressed that he is “yet to see anything meaningful when it comes to fighting illegal mining.”