Our galamsey operations is not near water bodies - Bole residents

The Secretary of the Small Scale Miners Association in the Bole District, Mr Alhassan Abdul Razak has said that small scale mining activities in the Bole District does not happen near water and so the reason that their activities result in the pollution of major water bodies is not a justifiable reason to ban their operations.

Speaking on Bole basee Nkilgi FM, Mr Abdul-Razake said their association in Bole District where small scale mining (galamsey) activities is the highest in the Northern Region has been doing a lot of education on the best small scale mining practices.

“We have always done things properly and we are working hard to regularize our operations by acquiring small scale mining permits to people who will be responsible for making sure that things are done properly” Mr Alhassan said.

Many residents of the Bole District are worried over the three-week ultimatum from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr John Peter Amewu’s for all illegal miners to stop their activities or be prepared to face the full rigors of the law.

While some the residents vented their anger on government’s decisions and threatened to resist the ultimatum others are conciliatory and pleading with government to rescind their decision to ban galamsey with the reason that small scale mining is their main source of livelihood and is the most profitable economic activity in the Bole district.

Galamsey has been going on at many locations in the Bole District like Kui, Cloth, Dakurpe and Banda-Nkwanta and Dollar Power to the west of Bole.

Thousands of youth have migrated to settle in the galamsey communities increasing commercial activities there with other effects such as armed robbery and deaths.

Many people either going to or leaving the galamsey sites have been ambushed robbed and sometimes killed. Some prominent people in Bole have been killed by the Armed robbers but fortunately measured were taken by the Bole District Security Council and the traditional authority to stop all negative acts around the areas.

Galamsey poses serious environmental challenges, the most widespread being land degradation, water pollution leading to ill health of people. Galamsey has changed the land-use practices of people Bole district with many abandoning their traditional livelihood activities in exchange of mining.

Even though galamsey has its negative effects, it has served as a source of employment for many of the jobless youth group in Bole District. It has changed the lives of many of the people at Bole and its environs and has made many of the young men rich. Indeed Bole is expanding at a faster rate than before as buildings are springing up everywhere. Undoubtedly Bole has become one the biggest towns in Northern Region now.