By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Bantamahene, Nana Baffour Owusu Amankwatia VI has appealed to the government to empower Chiefs to deal with the issue of Galamsey in Ghana.
According to him, the powers of Chiefs to arrest recalcitrant citizens had diminished and there was very little they could do to salvage the vile environmental degradation perpetrated through the wanton exploitation of gold.
“Chiefs, hitherto, had the power to summon these irresponsible people to the Palace but, that power to summon has been taken away. As a human institution, there might have been some instances of abuse of power to summon but that could have been rectified. He stated.
Nana Baffour Owusu Amankwatia VI, is, therefore, calling on Parliament to re-look at the issue of empowering Chiefs to deal with the galamsey menace.
Nana Amankwatia VI indicated that any measures outlined by the government to fight galamsey without the comprehensive involvement of the Chiefs could fail.
He expressed concern at the rate at which forest reserves and water bodies were being destroyed with impunity by illegal miners and their related activities due to a decline in the country’s moral and cultural values.