Give us the legal mandate to chase out galamsey operators - Chief

• The fight against galamsey is on and several strategies are being employed to kick out their problem

• The latest is on the Benkumhene of Twifo Traditional Council asking the government to invest powers in chiefs to drive out illegal miners on sites

• The move he believes will help the country restore its vegetation cover


Read full article/>
Benkumhene of Twifo Traditional Council, Nana Boakye II has called on the government to give chiefs the legal backing to help fight illegal mining known widely as galamsey in the country.

The fight against galamsey, he opined is to protect water bodies, vegetation covers and other natural resources for sustainable development.

He told the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan during a tour to some mining sites in the region, “give us documents and legal backings to exercise our mandate to drive out illegal miners from our lands.”

“We are killing ourselves day by day by the unscrupulous acts by galamseyers since our water is mixed with toxic metal and we drink it daily,” he added.

Nana Boakye II averred that tracking illegal miners as it stands now is pretty difficult because they have documents covering their operations.

He, therefore, advised the government to seek the consent of traditional authorities before granting concessions to mining companies.

Nana Boakye II also charged Ghanaians to adhere to the environmental laws to restore the country's vegetation.