Nana Obiri Boahen, a former Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, has indicated that the use of a joint security taskforce to clamp down on illegal mining cannot curb the menace.

According to him, the government’s use of a taskforce in combating galamsey is not pragmatic, given the pervasiveness of the canker.

He condemned the politicisation of the fight against illegal mining and called for a more inclusive approach to the fight against the vice that is fast eroding the vegetation and polluting water bodies.

“The hue and cry about NPP or NDC bigwigs being culpable of illegal mining is much ado about nothing. All the drama over Aowin MP being allegedly involved in galamsey was all needless.

“If you asked me, I would say… and so what? The issue is not about whether he is mining or not, but the real question is… Is he applying the best practices in the mineral exploration?... or was he wading into areas marked as reserved? That is the real conversation we can have, not the fact that he is engaged in mining,” he said on Okay FM on March 18, 2025.

He also observed that the current strategy of deploying security taskforce to infiltrate galamsey hotspots is cosmetic and lacks the potency to root out the canker entirely.

“How can the minister and authorities in the sector sit in Accra and fight illegal mining activities which is vigorously happening in the hinterlands? They have to actively engage chiefs, DCEs, MCEs and MPs to tackle it on the grounds,” he said.

He noted that in the event of community mining, a thorough education on safe practices, such as reclamation, and outright avoidance of water pathways, could best be facilitated by the chiefs and DCEs at the district level.

He recommended a dialogue rooted in the culture, education, climate change and environmental protection as the best way to mitigate the canker.

He emphasised that it is not the activity of mining in itself that is problematic, but the wanton disregard for best practices in mineral exploration that remains the issue of concern.

VPO/AE