The Omanhene of Manso- Nkwanta in the Amansie West Constituency of the Ashanti Region, Nana Bi-Kusi Appiah II has said, the government is to be blamed for illegal mining which has become rampant in the country, especially in Amansie West district.
According to him, the government did well by introducing the small scale mining license but that has not regularized it properly.
“I am not against the move government took, but my worry is why we are still suffering from the hands of illegal miners when the government has introduced mining laws to restrict unlawful mining”, the paramount chief asked.
Nana Bi-Kusi II also said, most of the people who are involved in this small scale mining are politicians, chiefs, police and the youth because some of them have concessions and have employed some people to mine for them and that has made it difficult to fight illegal mining activities in the country.
In an exclusive interview with the paramount chief of Manso-Nkwanta concerning illegal mining which is claiming a lot of lives, destroying water bodies and forest reserved in the country, he disclosed that the idea of the NDC government to regularized mining by introducing a small scale mining license was perfect but failed to monitor it.
He continue that, as a chief, his number one priority is to protect the well-being of his people so when the illegal miners started invading his traditional area, he called all the chiefs in the area together and warned them to ensure no land is released to anyone for any mining activity except those who have license to mine. That moved failed since the police and the other security agencies failed to render their support.
According to the Paramount chief, the situation became worse and all effort by him and his chiefs to fight this unlawful mining proved futile.
He said without fear and favor that, people do sometimes accused the traditional rulers whereas the government through the mineral commission is responsible for granting a prospecting license to people and instead of using the license to prospect, they turn using the license to mine whereas that is not what the miner is told to use the permit to do.
“I will always blame the government for what we are seeing now that is leading to destruction of lands and water bodies’’, he stressed.
Nana Bi-Kusi Appiah II explained that illegal mining is mining without state permission in particular in absence of land right and mining license but the police and other security agencies who supposed to enforce the law to arrest those people look on which to him is on the part of the government.
The chief who has ruled for almost 37 years as the paramount chief of Manso Nkwanta traditional area said, if this challenge can be overcome, then it must be a share responsibility of all to come together as one people to find an alternative solution to it.