Minister for National security, Albert Kan Dapaah, has stated that communities engaged in illegal mining also known as “Galamsey” are likely to be targets of the terrorist group.
He made this known whiles giving an update on the Accra Initiative, which aims to prevent the spillover of terrorism from the Sahel and to address transnational organized crime and violent extremism in ECOWAS member countries’ border areas.
The minister explained in a minister’s press briefing on Sunday, November 20, 2022 that terrorists indulge in illegal mining to fund their criminal acts thus citizens should desist from the act.
In Mali, in Burkina Faso, the terrorists have always been attracted to gold mining areas. Clearly, they try to make money from gold mining activities to undertake the criminal activities that they do. The criminals may want to take advantage of galamsey activities in our country to raise money to do what they do in other countries and what they may plan to do in our country.
However, he assured that the ministry is monitoring the situation and working to prevent it from escalating.
We are aware of this. We are studying it. We do know what has to be done in this area, and we work hard to make sure we are not overtaken by events. But clearly, one way that you can make cheap money to go and undertake some of these criminal activities is galamsey, so it’s of interest.
Threats from terrorist organizations have been felt in the West African region as a result of recent terrorist attacks in Ghana’s neighbors Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.
Due to this trend, the government was obligated to start the “See Something, Say Something” program, which aims to get people to report any suspicious activities.
Now, Following the recapture of Chinese galamsey ringleader Aisha Huang and her three other accomplices, galamsey operations have come under scrutiny.
The Ghana Water Company Limited has issued a warning that it may soon close its facilities in some operational regions due to the high turbidity levels of the water as galamsey activities continue to erode water bodies and vegetative cover.
Story by Cindy Humade | univers.ug.edu.gh
