The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, has shared details regarding how illegal miners are heavily armed for their activities.
Recounting his experience on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo show with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Thursday, September 5, 2024, Seth Acheampong said he once led a mission with a taskforce of about 30 men to stop and arrest illegal miners.
Upon their arrival at the site, Acheampong said the illegal miners they encountered numbered 104 and were heavily-armed, outnumbering the taskforce he led.
As a result, he said they had to retreat to avoid the risk of a violent confrontation.
“I went to a galamsey site with a taskforce team to stop the illegal mining activities. When we arrived, we found about 104 illegal miners, which was significantly more than the 30 taskforce members with me and I will say the truth, as a man I told them to retreat else any attempt we make to stop them, they can harm and even kill us, so we had to return home to properly prepare ourselves,” he said.
Seth Acheampong bemoaned how these illegal miners, who carry guns for self-protection, have become a significant problem for the country and could pose a serious threat to the nation’s security.
“This is the biggest problem that has befallen the country. These are some of the things we face and the kind of guns they are armed with…,” he added.
His comment is in response to mounting public pressure on the government to put a stop galamsey activities.
This follows a statement from Ghana Water Limited, which highlighted challenges in distributing good quality water due to the poor condition of the Pra River, exacerbated by galamsey operations.
