Operation Halt is not a fight against galamsey - Small Scale Miners

Vice-Chairman of the Small-Scale Miners Association, Benjamin Annan has accused the government of launching the Operation Halt campaign just to oust small-scale miners from the mining sector and make way for NPP bigwigs to engage in galamsey.

He believes the so-called renewed fight against galamsey was not really to end illegal mining.

He made these allegations during an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show aired on e.TV Ghana and Happy 98.9FM.

“The government is not fighting against galamseyers. It is rather against small-scale miners. The plan is to do away with small scale miners and make way for the NPP Bigwigs. So, with this galamsey fight, no one should say people are involved in galamsey, it is the NPP that is involved in the galamsey and the government is protecting NPPs involved in galamsey”.

He reasoned that the MCEs and DCEs who are in charge of protecting the areas of mining look on for some NPP members to engage in galamsey in some forest reserves. Hence, the government is in support of the illegality going on.

On Friday, April 30, 2021, Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul stated that all the seized galamsey equipments including excavators will be destroyed on-site by the military officers deployed to the galamsey areas.

“We are not seizing any equipment, no equipment will be returned home, they will all be destroyed on-site. No excavator, nothing will come back home,” the Minister said at a press conference.

His statement followed President Akufo-Addo’s order for the deployment of about 200 soldiers to mining areas to clamp down on activities by illegal miners.