Helicopter crash should spur ruthless fight against illegal mining – Otumfuo
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has urged President John Dramani Mahama to launch an uncompromising campaign to end illegal mining in Ghana, warning that the recent deaths of eight officials in a military helicopter crash must not be in vain.
The victims, including senior government ministers and security officers, were travelling to an event linked to the fight against illegal mining – known locally as galamsey – when their aircraft went down in the Ashanti Region on 6 August.
Speaking during a courtesy call by Ashanti Regional Minister Dr Frank Amoakohene and members of the security council on Wednesday (14 August), the monarch said the tragedy should be a turning point in Ghana’s battle against the environmental scourge.
“The deaths of the eight people must not be in vain. The pain must be diverted into fighting galamsey and making it a thing of the past,” the Asantehene said as quoted by opemsuo.com.
Among those killed were Defence Minister Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Environment Minister Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Muniru Mohammed Limuna, and Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress Dr Samuel Sarpong.
Others included Samuel Aboagye, Deputy Director-General of NADMO, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manden Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
Out of control
The Asantehene’s comments follow years of warnings about the devastating impact of illegal mining on Ghana’s rivers, forests, and farmlands.
For a former constituency chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Odeneho Kwaku Appiah (COKA), the situation is out of control under the Mahama administration.
“Our water bodies are so polluted they’ve become undrinkable,” he said, suggesting that figures within the NDC government may be complicit in the illegal operations.
