Mining on water bodies will not be allowed in Ofoase Ayirebi – Oppong Nkrumah

Ofoase Ayirebi Member of Parliament, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has said mining in water bodies which is also known as ‘galamsey’ will not be permitted in his polity.

The MP who is also the Minister of Works and Housing, speaking to some constituents of his area bemoaned the high levels of illegal mining going on in many parts of the country.

He said although some persons have said they won’t fight galamsey for the fear of losing their seats in Parliament, he will not condone the act in his constituency.

His statement comes amidst growing concerns about the environmental impact of such activities and the political pressures surrounding them.

Speaking at a campaign trail Saturday, October 05, 2024, he said “today, some say that those mining in water bodies should be left to do so because if we ask them to stop, they won’t vote for us.”

“I want to emphatically say that if an MP wants to allow people to mine on his water bodies, we won’t allow people to mine on water bodies here in Ofoase Ayirebi because the water is what we drink,” said Oppong Nkrumah.

He stated that it costs him a lot of money to go on anti-galamsey raids, saying each operation takes about GH¢7,000.00 from him.

“Whenever they are going for a raid, they take about GH¢7,000.00 from me before they do so. So, if someone somewhere is afraid to fight persons destroying our water bodies, we in Ofoase Ayirebi won’t allow that here,” he asserted.

He advised those interested in mining to use the environmentally friendly methods that do not cause any harm to water bodies and forest reserves.

“If you want to mine, there is a good way to go about it,” he said.

Source:onuaonline.com