Galamsey: We need action, not just inspections - Atronie chief on polluted River [Audio]

Omono Asamoah, Abusuapanyin of the Atronie Traditional Area, stated on Adom FM's Dwaso Nsem that the community was disappointed with the approach adopted during a planned visit by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to inspect areas affected by illegal mining activities. He explained that the chiefs waited for several hours for the minister, only to be informed by some officials that they should meet him halfway so they could continue the journey together. Mr. Asamoah said, "The plan was for the minister to come here, meet the chiefs, and from here we would all go to the place where the galamsey activities were ongoing."

The chiefs and people of Atronie in the Sunyani Municipality of the Bono Region have called for adequate security protection during engagements aimed at addressing the impact of illegal mining, known as galamsey, on the community's water bodies. Mr. Asamoah said the chiefs were reluctant to follow the new arrangement because a similar incident in the past nearly resulted in a dangerous situation. He alleged that when they previously went to confront illegal miners at a mining site, the situation became tense and could have turned violent, potentially ending in bloodshed.