Galamsey fines too low, not deterrent enough – Ashanti Regional Minister

The fines imposed on illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers) by the courts are too low and deterrent enough, Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah has complained.

In his view, there was the need for more punitive fines to discourage recalcitrant galamseyers.

Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on a recent survey that cited his region as the most violent in Ghana, Mr Osei-Mensah said: “Galamsey is like fighting the black market; you fight them here, they pop up elsewhere”.

“We are doing our best”, he self-applauded, adding: “Most of the people are being prosecuted, especially in the Obuasi areas”.

“Sometimes, the fines are too low that they are not punitive enough, and these are the discussions we may have to have with the judiciary, because if you fine a galamsey operator GH¢5,000, it’s not enough. They just pay and go back to the site.”

On other security issues raised by Foundation for Security & Development in Africa (FOSDA), the minister said: “The major security challenges we inherited, we’ve been able to solve them”.

“If you take Asante Akyem Agogo, the cattle herdsmen menace has been there for decades and even the late former president Rawlings established operation calm life in 1992 to curb that menace”.

“When I took over in 2017, I went to Agogo, the capital of Asante Akyem North and had a meeting with the chiefs and people in a church and told them we will nip that menace in the bud”.

“Now, everybody can attest to the fact that that menace has been brought down to the barest minimum.”