A group of illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers) have taken to the popular social media platform Tik Tok to mock President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s effort at combating the menace. In a video shared on the Twitter handle of broadcast journalist, Kafui Dey, a caterpillar earth-moving machine is seen busily at work while two other galamseyers use water holes to ‘wash’ the deposit placed on a board. While this is ongoing, a voice behind the camera runs a commentary on what is happening. The unidentified masculine voice taunts President Akufo-Addo saying that they were working in the wee hours of the day while emphasizing that the president does not know everywhere in Ghana. While questioning President Akufo-Addo on remuneration for workers, the unidentified voice goes ahead to mention that galamseyers are able to make at least GH¢500 a day. He dares the president that even if their earth-moving machines are seized, they will use their hands to do the galamsey activity. “The galamsey work is seriously going on. We can’t stop the galamsey. This is the school we attended. If our machine is seized, we swear to use our hands in the washing. Everybody gets work to do. You can get GH¢500 in just one day. Which of your workers do you pay GH¢500 a day?” the voice is heard saying. Meanwhile, GhanaWeb cannot confirm the site from which the video was shot and when it was also shot. Background President Akufo-Addo in an address to the National House of Chiefs expressed concerns over galamsey activities which he admits has been a lost battle over the years. He said even though he put his presidency on the line to combat the menace in 2017, its results have not been what he expected. The president said he paid an electoral price for his fight as he lost votes and, in some cases, NPP MPs in the 7th Parliament lost their reelection bid in mining communities. He stated that the fight against illegal mining can only be won with the support of chiefs as well as stamping out politics from it. “It can only succeed if it is a truly national battle that no one seeks to exploit for political gain, as we saw in the last election. The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all Fellow Ghanaians, pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future,” President Akufo-Addo said. Ghana has been waging war on the activities of illegal miners however it is widely believed that the fight has not yielded the desired results. The discoloured nature of water bodies as well as general environmental degradation has been used as a testament to the failed fight. In a meeting with Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on October 16, President Akufo-Addo said his government will end the galamsey menace. “We are here to eradicate galamsey and surely, it would be eradicated,” he said. Watch video below You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: DS/PEN