The Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahene, has led the regional Anti-galamsey Task Force to arrest a 36-year old man suspected to be one of the most notorious illegal miners at Wamfie in the Dormaa East District.
Following her assumption of office a few months ago, the Regional Minister has waged a relentless war against illegal mining and illegal lumbering in the region. This is in line with the government’s resolve to deal with the menace head-on to save the country’s water bodies and the environment in general from further destruction.
Kofi Damoa, also called ‘Alla’, was busted by the Task Force last Wednesday, together with his accomplice, Stephen Ansu, at one of his galamsey sites near his residence at Wamfie.
Two locally-manufactured guns, cartridges, pumping machine, among other items, were retrieved from the suspects upon their arrest.
Call for support
Speaking to the media after the operations, the Regional Minister challenged traditional rulers and other stakeholders to play a lead role in the government’s renewed fight against illegal mining, saying, as a country, “we cannot sit unconcerned and allow a few people to destroy our rivers and forest reserves for their parochial interest.”
She also charged the various municipal and district assemblies in the region to map out effective strategies to flush out galamsey activities in their jurisdictions, and further called on all stakeholders to join the campaign to safeguard the environment.
“Let us raise our voices by joining the campaign against ‘galamsey’ and educating others through social media platforms and face-to-face to end the menace.
“We cannot turn back the hands of time, but we can grow trees and green our cities. So, I urge all of us to join this call and win this together. We can only make a headway if we all join hands to fight this menace,” she said.
