Former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has called on the government to take decisive action against the growing menace of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. Speaking on The Point of View on Channel One TV, Jinapor identified three key areas the government must focus on to combat the issue.
Jinapor raised concerns over alleged political involvement in galamsey, describing it as “a disturbing development”. He stated, “There is obviously a clear case or situation of political actors and in some cases, political class at the high level allegedly involved in this issue of illegal small-scale mining… It is our turn to take our share of the illegal mining galamsey turf.”
He also criticized the prevailing culture of impunity surrounding galamsey, urging the government to confront it head-on. “I think there is also an issue of impunity that has creeped in… So government must begin to look at that critically and look at how to exorcise the culture of impunity when it comes to the fight against illegal mining,” he said.
Jinapor further emphasized the need for the government to honour its manifesto promise to declare a state of emergency in mining districts. “The opposition at the time supported Civil Societies call and went a step further to commit and promise that when voted into office… they will declare a state of emergencies in mining districts of our country,” he noted.
He urged the government to clarify its stance on this commitment, stating, “We should hear from them. They should come out and say we will impose a state of emergency at such and such time or we will not impose a state of emergency because of A, B, C reasons. But not to say anything and to leave it hanging I think is not a proper way of proceeding.”
Interestingly, Jinapor’s current stance contrasts with his previous views on declaring a state of emergency to combat galamsey. In a past engagement, he described such suggestions as “extreme” and potentially having “unintended consequences”. However, his latest call for decisive action underscores the urgency of addressing the galamsey menace ¹.
