I will never involve myself in galamsey business

I will never involve myself in galamsey business, said the Western Regional Minister, Dr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah.

Reporting on the State Of The Western Region at the Ministry of Information in Accra on Wednesday, November 16, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi Constituency said, if mining is to be done, then it has to be done well and not in a way that will destroy the environment.

He said, “I do believe that mining if it has to be done, it has to be done properly and it can be done properly.”

“If you take the number of people who are linked to mining in Ghana, it’s about 5 million people, and large scale only takes care of 30,000, about 1 million people are directly involved in small scale mining”

“We need to do it well so that we don’t destroy the environment and the livelihoods of other people and that is why the government has brought up a lot of programs that the youth can join and become parts of it like the community mining system and the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood program.”

“These are beautiful programs that come with mining and people can get involved to make the mining safe and better.”

Dr Darko-Mensah debunked claims that the District Chief Executive (DCE) in the region are involved in galamsey. He indicated that, he has been linked to galamsey by some people and it’s the same people who are linking the DCEs to the menace.