Ghana’s Defense Minister Is Sending the Military Back to the Countryside to Crack Down on Illegal Gold Mining

Facing a surge of public pressure that the government isn’t doing enough to stop small-scale illegal gold mining (a practice known as galamsey,) Ghana’s Defense Minister Dominic Nitiwul announced that a joint Army, Navy and Air Force task force will be redeployed back into the countryside to resume “Operation Halt.”

Two Chinese miners were arrested in the first phase of the operation that took place at the end of April. Although Chinese galamseyers are by no means the only illegal miners in rural Ghana, it’s been a persistent problem over the past decade and fueled much of the current public anger over the government’s inability/unwillingness to bring the situation under control. There are also widespread rumors that Chinese small-scale miners are operating under the protection of Ghanaian power brokers.

At a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, Nitiwul issued a stern warning to miners who’ve now apparently shifted to operating at night to avoid detection by soldiers. “They go at midnight and engage in [mining] activities… I cannot guarantee their safety should they be caught by the task force,” he said.

Much depends on President Akufo-Addo’s success in bringing the galamsey situation under control. It was a central issue in his recent re-election campaign. Given the surge in public anger that’s now filling the airwaves and social media, the move to reactivate the military appears aimed at getting control of the issue.

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The post Ghana’s Defense Minister Is Sending the Military Back to the Countryside to Crack Down on Illegal Gold Mining appeared first on The China Africa Project.



source https://chinaafricaproject.com/2021/05/20/ghanas-defense-minister-is-sending-the-military-back-to-the-countryside-to-crack-down-on-illegal-gold-mining/

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