Arrest big men doing galamsey – Ablakwa charges Gov’t

For the fight against galamsey to achieve its ultimate purpose, the financiers, the big men and women behind the activity must be arrested and prosecuted, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel OkudzetoAblakwa has said.

To him, the latest phase of the fight should be based on arrest of kingpins constituting to the work of the illegal mining rather than, just the surface fight.

“It strikes me as really strange that in this entire galamsey fight we have not had one galamsey overlord, one real architect, an actual financier arrested and prosecuted. Isn’t that where the fight should have started from?We all know from the kind of sophisticated equipment at play that only a few moneybags can initiate a galamsey operation.”, he added.

Below is Mr. Ablakwa’s full post

It strikes me as really strange that in this entire galamsey fight we have not had one galamsey overlord, one real architect, an actual financier arrested and prosecuted. Isn’t that where the fight should have started from?

We all know from the kind of sophisticated equipment at play that only a few moneybags can initiate a galamsey operation.

Instead of hurriedly burning excavators, shouldn’t we pay attention to their unique chassis numbers and readily available technology to track the real McCoys who imported or purchased them? It’s definitely not difficult to follow the ownership trail.

Is it not time to put out a handsome amount of money as a reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the “big men/women” behind the destructively criminal galamsey gang? Remember, those cloaked with authority over intelligence gathering say they do not know the real henchmen.

Also, in exchange for their freedom, shouldn’t we get the small flies we arrest at the galamsey pits to lead us to their real bosses? How many of them wouldn’t find this offer irresistible?

Where is EOCO to long begin following the proceeds of this organized crime by lawfully freezing bank accounts and identifying assets of suspected bigwigs linked to galamsey as we take sincere steps to smoke out the shadowy perpetrators-in-chief?

Finally, can all political parties in Ghana publicly declare a zero-tolerance policy for party financing from galamsey overlords at all levels? This ought to be strictly enforced with appropriate sanctions.

I am just thinking aloud on how the latest round of galamsey fight wouldn’t end up as a farce like all the others.

Only fearless truth and unquestionable integrity can be our saving grace. God help the Republic.

Samuel OkudzetoAblakwa
[MP, North Tongu
Former Deputy Minister for Education]