By Jeremiah Nutsugah
A Security Analyst and retired military personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces, Colonel Festus Aboagye (Rtd) has attributed past failures in combating galamsey to political interests.
Speaking on TV3’s “Ghana Tonight,” he criticized the Minerals Commission’s boss for prioritizing licensing over regulation.
Col. Aboagye questioned the Commission’s stance, citing Legislative Instrument (L.I 2464), which allows regulated mining in forest reserves under specific conditions. He argued that this has faced opposition for exposing protected areas to mining.
Legislative Instrument (L.I 2464) allows for a regulated mining in forest reserves under specific conditions. However this has faced a heated opposition for opening up protective areas for mining. Col. Aboagye also expressed doubts about the government’s commitment to tackling galamsey. He sided with the call for the declaration of a state of emergency by the government
“Without political will, no amount of resources or military deployment will succeed.” He emphasized that politically exposed persons often evade accountability. I would rather support the declaration of a state of emergency so that there is a legal basis for whatever approaches the government intends to pursue, rather than using an executive instrument which, to the best of my knowledge, is not subject to oversight by other arms of government, especially parliament”, he maintained.
Regarding organized labor’s call for a state of emergency, Aboagye suggested it might not be the president’s preferred option due to impending elections and potential restrictions on citizens’ liberties.
“Let’s remember that we’re in the campaign season, right? We have elections around the corner, Now, if a state of emergency is declared, invariably there’s going to be some restrictions on the liberties of citizens in those areas, like freedom of movement”.
