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The Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, has warned about the state of illegal mining in Ghana, describing a troubling shift in who is driving the problem.
Speaking on TV3 in an interview with Roland Walker monitored by MyNewsGh, Ashigbey said, “Yes, so Roland, you see, and Solomon mentioned it, the firefighters have become the arsonists.”
He explained that those entrusted with preventing illegal mining have themselves become active participants.
“The people we have put in authority to prevent these things from happening, some of them around His Excellency the President, some of them around, you know, in the corridors of power… They have become organized criminals,” Ashigbey stated.
When asked for clarification on what he meant by “organized criminals,” he was unequivocal. “Yes, yes, it is organized crime. It is properly organized crime.
These are the people who can import 200 excavators into this country. These are people who are importing a lot of weaponry into this country,” he said, painting a picture of a deeply entrenched network.
Ashigbey further revealed that foreign nationals are being brought into the country, not to mine, but to provide security for these operations.
“Your situations now, they bring people from our neighboring countries, not to come and mine, but they bring the people to provide the security, the shield, in such a way that… yes, you know, currently go to a lot of our…”
Asked if he was referring to nationals from Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria, he confirmed, “Completely.”
He emphasized that these individuals are providing protection even at legal mining sites, underlining the complexity and scale of the challenge.
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