The Executive Director for the Institute for Energy Policies and Research (IEPR), Kwadwo Poku has suggested that a shoot to kill approach must be considered by the government in its fight against illegal mining especially on water bodies.
He believes the menace of illegal mining, commonly known as ‘Galamsey’, destroying water bodies in the country is getting out of hand.
However, to ensure galamsey becomes a thing of the past, Mr. Opoku says “shoot and kill” should be the way forward for the illegal mining task force to serve as a deterrent to others.
The Executive Director for the Institute for Energy Policies and Research who had been championing this call to curb illegal mining on Ghana’s water bodies reaffirmed his stands in an interview on Accra-based Asaase radio monitored by angelonline.com.gh
His comments were in reaction to the announcement of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) new tariffs for electricity and water which takes effect on Thursday, September 1, 2022.
He was convinced that the pollution of most river bodies due to the activities of illegal mining has resulted in the recent high water tariffs in Ghana.
Mr. Opoku established that “You are supposed to stay 10 metres away from river bodies, if that person is not a metre, five metres away from the river body, it is in the river body, is that conversation a negotiable conversation? It is not. For me, it is a straight down the line crack of the whip.
“I am a bit extreme on this, I am on record to have said that if the military or police or the taskforce go down and the people have guns, they should shoot and kill.
“I honestly don’t see how somebody is putting mercury acid in our water body, which will kill people downstream and when they have gun to shoot at the taskforce, they can’t return fire and kill them, because they are killing people down the stream anyway,” he declared.
Mr. Poku noted that there are laws that state clearly the intervals that allow mining activities to take place closer to water bodies in the country yet the country seems unconcerned to put these laws into effect.
He admitted although his suggestion might be considered in the view of the general public as harsh and unpleasant, it is necessary because foreigners have over the years taken the country for granted.
“So, I’m very extreme on this because am very passionate about this conversation, so maybe my words will be found a bit harsh but for me, we need to take a stands as a nation.
“There are certain countries where you can’t go and do certain things because everybody knows their stands on those things.
“Nobody will take cocaine to Thailand because if you go to Thailand with cocaine everybody knows what will happen to you. You can’t go to Saudi Arabia and do prostitution, so why is it that it is okay for foreigners to come to Ghana and do galamsey? because we condone it and there is no punishment.”
