The Minority Members on the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament have criticized the government for failing to account for funds disbursed in the fight against illegal mining, also known as ‘galamsey,’ in the 2024 Budget.
The group alleges that $30 million was allocated to the defunct inter-ministerial committee quarterly for three years, while over GH¢5 million were also used in the government’s interaction with traditional leaders and security agencies on dealing with the galamsey menace.
Addressing the media, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee, Alhassan Suhuyini, says the government must be accountable to the public in the fight against ‘galamsey.’
“Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves why, this time in the budget statement, not even once has the ‘galamsey’ word been mentioned? After we have spent millions of Ghana cedis. The Interministerial committee was allocated $30 million every quarter, and they operated for three years.”
“That should tell you how much money has gone down the drain; they blew GH¢5.4 million just to interact on ‘galamsey.’ The question is, to what end? What are the benefits that we have from all of these?” Alhassan Suhuyini asked.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Opoku Ansah, wants the government to consider the establishment of a fund to repair the damage caused to river bodies by galamsey.
“Mr. Speaker, everybody is talking about ‘galamsey’ and how it has destroyed our water bodies. There’s the need for a fund to be set aside so that monies deposited in this fund will be used to repair destroyed rivers, construct new waters for our people, and ensure that the Ghanaian is assured of good drinking water,” Davis Opoku Ansah suggested.
