Former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini has endorsed the ministry’s decision to use drones and other technology to fight illegal mining in Ghana.
According to Alhaji Fuseini, the move which was championed by him while in office will help fight the galamsey menace.
His comments follows an announcement by the, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu to fight illegal miners with the help of drones and other modern technology.
Speaking to Citi Business News, Alhaji Fuseini lauded the approach and described it as a good move.
“Mr. Amewu has taken the idea further. Mine was just to deploy drones. I had spoken about it, The people of Kenya started using that to track poaching. So the idea has been around for some time. He wants to know where the earth moving equipment are at any particular time, and so if they are in the mining areas he can reasonably say per the performance that these earth moving equipment are not doing the work for which they were imported into this country, and then we can decide on them. So it needs a stakeholder approach,” he emphasized.
He stated that it is important for the country to nib the activities of illegal miners in the bud to protect water bodies and agriculture lands.
Meanwhile, some players in the agriculture sector have warned of food insecurity in the short to medium term if the galamsey menace is not curbed.
Though they have described the move as welcoming, the Content Manager of Esoko Ghana, Francis Danso Agyei, told Citi Business News more education is needed to stop the illegal acts.
“Farmers use these water to water the crops and so any trait of chemicals that are harmful will also have an effect on the crop and it will eventually be passed onto us,” he warned.
Mr. Agyei stressed the need for more education to change the mindset of the people.
“I think that the approach will have to be more of education. So even though we are going to use all these modern equipment and gadgets to fight galamsey, we should also make sure that those communities are educated and that people in these communities are also aware of the harmful effects of these mining activities in the communities or on the farmlands that we have,” He lamented.
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By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
