Vice president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has revealed that the presidency was convulsed to have a crucial cabinet meeting over the menace of illegal mining in the country.

According to the vice president, government is intensifying its focus on dealing with the menace to put a lid on illegal mining once and for all.

Addressing a group of chiefs at a workshop on illegal mining for traditional leaders under the auspices of the ministry of chieftaincy and religious affairs in collaboration with the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal mining, Bawumia revealed that ‘’Government is considering the creation of alternative livelihood for illegal miners to move them from the ills of galamsey to productive sectors’’. Bawumia revealed that; ‘’Even last night as we met in cabinet, this issue of galamsey was raised for discussion. The destruction of our lands is a destruction of Ghana’’.

The fight against illegal mining in Ghana is feared to have hit some snag as illegal miners are revealed to have returned to the mining pits after a group of security forces got deployed to the various sites to clamp down on the activity.

YEN.com.gh has recently revealed that close to 20 illegal miners lost their lives after the pit they were operating in at Prestea Nsuta in the Western Region, a development which has seen government order for the immediate closure of the affected mining pit.