Cut off Common Funds to MMDAs where galamsey is thriving - Majority Leader to govt

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has charged the government to cut off budgetary allocation to Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies where galamsey is thriving.

According to the Suame legislator, this punitive measure is the surest way in the fight against illegal mining.

He also attributed the government’s unsuccessful attempt at dealing with the

Read full articlemenace to irresponsible leadership by some DCEs and chiefs in the mining communities.

He further argued that some chiefs benefit from the proceeds of the galamsey, that is the reason they've looked on for such activities to thrive.

Speaking in an interview with Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV and monitored by GhanaWeb, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs argued that this revolutionary approach will help deal with the longstanding menace.

"Government has not been successful in its fight against galamsey. If we want to be drastic, I will suggest that we (government) should get the chiefs in the districts involved because the chiefs and the people in those areas are part of the problem. Every year the government makes provision for Common Fund to the assemblies, so any assembly encouraging galamsey activities should be denied its share of the common fund," he told the morning show host, Kwesi Parker-Wilson.

He further stated that if it is determined that mining at those assemblies have received legal permits, then the MMDA's must ensure that their activities do not pollute the country’s water bodies.

EA/BOG