Sunyani, Oct. 11, GNA – A traditional ruler has called on chiefs and queens to spearhead the fight against illegal mining to save the nation’s water bodies and forest resources.
Nana Takyi Abeam, the Dwantoahene (sub-chief) of the Sunyani Traditional Council, it would be extremely difficult for the government alone to shoulder the responsibility towards fighting the ‘galamsey’ menace without the active involvement of traditional authorities.
As the embodiment of the people, custodian of land, traditions and culture, he said chiefs and queens wielded the power to protect natural resources, saying with their influential role, their active involvement would greatly help the nation to make inroads into the fight of illegal mining.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on his view about the galamsey menace, Nana Abeam, expressed abhorrence, describing galamsey as a serious environmental crime, and called on traditional authorities to be at the forefront and help stem the practices in their localities.
“We have the authority and powers to decide what to do and what not to do in our communities.
“As chiefs and queens, we are the rightful owners of lands and until we consent to, nobody can try to miss up in our communities,” he stated, and urged chiefs to use those powers to protect miscreants from harming the environment.
Nana Abeam recollected years back when some Chinese nationals approached the Sunyani Traditional Council for a permit to undertake small-scale mining on the Sunyani lands.
“The then late Paramount Chief, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II with the support of the other chiefs firmly denied their request and this is what we can do as chiefs and queens to safeguard our resources for generation unborn,” he cited.
However, the traditional council was notified that the Chinese company was undertaking exploration, and so with the support of the Sunyani Municipal Security Committee moved in and since then miners have not reported to the site, Nana Abeam stated.
“That incident in particular is an example that without the support of traditional authorities, illegal miners cannot operate on our lands and destroy our heritage,” he indicated.
Nana Abeam said, “in such instances, we shouldn’t not wait for the government to intervene; rather we must act quickly and stop them in the supreme interest of our people and the nation”.
He also called on the government to support traditional authorities to protect and preserve the natural resources around their communities, describing the pollution and destruction of the nation’s water bodies, and forest resources due to illegal mining as unacceptable and disgusting.
Nana Abeam called for a broader consultation and stronger collaboration between the government and traditional authorities in tackling the menace.
GNA