The Concerned Small Scale Miners Union of Ghana has expressed its frustration over the prolonged moratorium on their activities.
They say the ban is unjustifiable and cowardly as far as they are concerned.
A statement signed by Mr. Michael Kwadwo Preprah; President of the Association emphasised that their members cannot be held responsible for the deterioration of lands and poisoning of water bodies since there are illegal miners also plying their activities in the forests and by water bodies.
He insisted that, as law abiding citizens, they have cooperated and fulfilled their part of the bargain and therefore ‘find the feet-dragging attitude by the government baffling and suffocating”.
He moreover, lamented that, they are surprised that the government of Nana Akufo Addo of all presidents and the New Patriotic Party for that matter, would do anything to frustrate indigenous private Ghanaian enterprises and force them out of business in plain contradiction of their political ideology of Capitalism and Property-Owning Democracy.
He revealed that, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, then a presidential candidate addressing the people of Obuasi at a party rally on Friday, July 15, 2016 remarked rather unambiguously that, “I was here in Obuasi to say that Galamsey, which I prefer to call small-scale mining, will be regularized, to ensure that the youth all find work to do. Shortly afterwards, Mahama also came here to tell you that I was lying, and that an Akufo-Addo government will rather sack everyone involved in ‘galamsey’ .
He stressed that, Small Scale Mining is not ‘galamsey’ as his Excellency the President wants Ghanaians to believe and that “we will resist this label”.
He says his organization “will visit their wrath on the Chinese and other expatriates who are still mining in our forests and on our water bodies with state security and forcibly flush them out with our last drop of blood”.