No galamsey activity on River Amanzule - Assemblyman denies reports

John Kpolley, the Assemblyman for Ampem electoral area has dismissed reports of ongoing galamsey activities on the Amanzule River. Reports have circulated on social media that there are some illegal mining operations ongoing on the River Amanzule and as a result of the pollution, the color of the river has turned goldish-yellow. Reacting to the reports in a GhanaWeb interview, John Kpolley swatted the rumors, insisting that there are no illegal mining activities on the river. Explaining the cause of the change in the color of the river, John Kpolley disclosed that there is a big drainage system that leads to the river. He also clarified that construction activities nearby are washed into the river during the rainy season which results in the color change currently being experienced. “I know all the areas through which the river flows so if there were galamsey activities ongoing, I would have known and draw the attention of the authorities. We are in the rainy season and there are gutters filled with dirt and clay stuff and those things are washed into the river whenever it rains. “When you see it, you’d think its galamsey but it is not. The color will change within a short time. It happens every rainy season and this is not the first time. I’m a member of the NDC so if were illegal mining, I would have made noise about it. I cant do politics with this”, he said. His statement corroborates claims by the District Chief Executive of Ellembelle that his outfit and the security agencies in the district are clamping down on all illegal mining activities in the district. “Let me commend the president. But for his intervention and commitment to fighting illegal mining, things would have been worse. There is gold in Ellembele but instead of going through due process they normally circumvent the process by seeing the families who are owners of the land. Because it’s illegal, you can’t regulate them. “Nana Akufo-Addo’s fight is what has brought us some relief. There are about 18 operations and I’m the complainant for most of them. There are instances where I’ve testified in open court against galamseyers” he said. Bonzoh K also called for a de-politicization of the fight against galamsey. He surmised that giving the fight a political colorization will prevent the government and agencies from identifying the real culprits behind the menace. “Galamseyers are businessmen who take advantage of the political space. We should do this thing [fighting illegal mining] without the political colorization of the fight”. “When you arrest one galamseyer, the number of calls that you will receive transcends political lines. The moment you politicize it, the real actors get away with it. We are doing the unborn generations a great disservice if we don’t win this fight. If we just look on for people to just destroy our environment, what will my children come to inherit?”