A Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, has shot down calls for the resignation of Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, as well as and his two deputies over the pollution and poor state of river bodies that have been caused by galamsey activities.

According to the deputy minister, the calls for resignations are unnecessary.

He explained that the fight against galamsey requires a collective decision-making effort from every Ghanaian.

“If we don’t take a collective decision and keep calling for the resignations of Abu Jinapor and others, which are highly unnecessary, the problem will still be there. The people living in the towns that surrounds the Offin and Pra Rivers are all involved in galamsey including the chiefs,” he said.

Mireku Duker also stated that some chiefs and townsfolk in the mining areas are complicit in the issue and share in the blame.

He disclosed that some traditional leaders in the galamsey-prone areas endorse the activities by charging boat fees from miners and granting them permission for their illegal operations, only to later turn around and blame the govt.

“The chiefs should stop collecting boat fees. I’ve been told that key leaders in the communities charge the miners for boat fees for using the boats on the river in their galamsey operations, then they will turn to blame government.

“If they resolve to say ‘no, no more mining in the river bodies’ and even if the former president Mahama comes to tell them to do it and bail them later, they will still not do it, “he said.

He, however, opined that the fight against galamsey can only be successful if Ghanaians collectively oppose the activities of the illegal miners and actively protect the river bodies.

“When they see the importance of our river bodies, they will not do it and that is the solution. The solution is very simple. Nobody can conjure any golden stool from heaven to resolve this matter. It is up to us as Ghanaians to know the importance of our river bodies and protect these river bodies. It is very key and real to us and we must do that. It pains me that as a country, we are playing with our future with the politicization of the issue and its very unnecessary...,” he stressed.

Mireku Duker’s comments come in response to calls from minority MPs on the Works and Housing Committee, who have demanded the immediate removal of Lands Minister Samuel Jinapor and his deputies.

They accused them of neglecting their duties to protect Ghana’s water bodies and rivers from the destructive impact of illegal mining, commonly referred to as “galamsey.”

MAG/AE