Western Regional Minister, Tarkwa-Nsuaem MP, MCE involved in galamsey - Chief alleges

A chief in the Western Region has alleged that the regional minister, a Member of Parliament and a Municipal Chief Executive in his jurisdiction are into illegal small-scale mining, galamsey. Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV, the Dompim-Pepesa chief, told the media on Monday, October 10, 2022, that he had incontrovertible evidence to implicate the trio. He has subsequently dared the trio to sue him over the allegations he has made, stressing that already he had become the subject of threat following his resolve to root out galamsey from his jurisdiction. "I know not of any company, but I know of the very people who are behind the operations of 'galamsey' in my area. First and foremost, the Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, is involved. "The MP for the area, Tarkwa Nsuaem, Honorable George Mireku-Duker, is also involved, and the MCE, Benjamin Kessie, is also involved. I have told you I am not going to disclose my arsenals to you." He did not state the exact nature of their involvement in galamsey, which has become an issue of national concern with increasing pressure on the government to curb its growing spread. "They said they were going to sue, so let them sue. I'll let out my arsenals at the right time," he alleged. Meanwhile, the MP, who also doubles as deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has denied involvement in the illegal activity. "The situation keeps getting worse, and my heart is bleeding," the chief said when asked how he feels about the galamsey scourge. Galamsey has become topical in recent months with the resurgence of news on its continued negative impact on the environment. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at a recent meeting with the National House of Chiefs and selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, MMDCEs, restated his resolve to root out the canker. The issue has also been given impetus following the rearrest last month of a notorious galamsey kingpin in the person of Aisha Huang. The Chinese national, who had, as of 2018, been repatriated from Ghana after the state discontinued a criminal trial against her for galamsey, reentered the country on the blind side of the authorities. Watch this week's E-Forum below. SARA/PEN