Fight galamsey humanely – NPC

The National Peace Council (NPC) has called on law implementers, especially the Operation Vanguard Taskforce to "approach the fight against illegal mining with a human face".

NPC member Reverend Dr Nii Amo Darko told Class News in Koforidua on the sidelines of a two-day training session for the council’s national representatives on Wednesday, 9 August that using the radical approach could end up in people getting killed or abused.

His comment comes on the heels of the killing of one suspected galamseyer at Wawase in the Ashanti Region on Sunday, 6 August by personnel of Operation Vanguard – the anti-galamsey taskforce set up by the presidency to put an end to illegal small-scale mining across the country.

While the taskforce insists its personnel shot to defend themselves, residents of the mining town claim the Vanguards told blatant lies since the alleged miners had no weapons on them.

However, Director General of the PR Unit of the Police, ACP David Eklu has said that personnel of the Ghana Police Service and their colleagues from the military will defend themselves if attacked by illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers).

So far, the Vanguards have arrested over 80 galamseyers at Osinor, Tarkwa and Obuasi just a week into their operations.