Krontihene for Asante Akyem Agogo, Nana Kwame Nti has laid the blame for illicit mining, popularly known as galamsey, at the doorstep of the government.
He essentially says that “if government does not give people permits to mine, the galamsey issue wouldn’t be this big”.
He explains that “many chiefs are easy to convince and once someone produces a permit and good money to pay for the land, many chiefs will go along”.
He says stringent measures should be taken against chiefs who participate in or condone illegal mining in their areas.
“If a chief is arrested, prosecuted and jailed, he will learn his lesson and he will also lose his position as a chief. This is enough motivation for chiefs to prevent galamsey in their areas”, he tells rawgist.com’s Bernard Buachi in an interview in Agogo.
He says the chiefs in Agogo are determined to help fight the menace and that is why there is no galamsey going on there. “We won’t allow you to do it”, he said emphatically and urged other chiefs to protect the lives and interests of their people.
He also besieged the government to help them get new buses and facilities to equip their schools since schools in Agogo are suffering serious deterioration due to a lack of modern facilities and equipment.
“We know this government takes education very seriously. We therefore want the government to come to our aid and help strengthen our schools here”, he pled.
