Why Galamsey Will Kill Us All - Only Drones, Copters Fight Will Redeem The Situation

Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) actors who have spoken on condition of anonymity with The Inquirer say in nearly all galamsey communities in the nine affected regions, what makes the galamsey fight challenging and fruitless is that the local boys working with NAIMOS to arrest offenders are part of, or friends to the perpetrator cooperatives and goons or financiers-local and foreign. 

By Nana Kwame Owusu

The Inquirer just gathered that while most of the assailants in the illegal economy are known in the affected communities, the now intriguing revelation is that most of the armed thugs are foreigners ready to do or die because they appear to have criminal records back home and for which reason returning was a no. 

As affirmed by most investigative journalists and researchers into the galamsey scourge, boys and girls from both New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) collaborate for purposes of convenience and mutual gain by forming unions and cooperatives under names such as Biakoye and Adro papa, Kawokudi and Prekese [not real operational nicknames]. 

It is therefore emerging that not most locals are arrested in galamsey swoops because those who enter pits and forests are hardnosed, do or die foreigners, not the beneficiary communities and locals. 

This paper’s reliable sources admit therefore that the drone intervention aimed at shooting to kill is the only way out. Heads of security agencies quietly admit that, too. 

The issue has to do with the politicians who believe youthful manpower in affected communities may be sacrificed in the event of implementation, culminating in migration and death of local economies, including cocoa farmers most of which are aging and needs to stay around to sustain activity of the plantations arrange labour replacement. 

“The raging conversation is “whether we can gather the political courage to do it,” the BNI official mused.

“Where we are getting to, I’m afraid it is only the drone idea or fight from the skies that will rescue Ghana or redeem the situation,” all our five sources agreed.  

Our sources further intimated that it is only when moneybags cheat the boys or foreigners deceive them that the whole union or unions and groups collaborate in exposing the enemy from outside and welcome other partners - local, party goon and politically-connected or foreigner. 

The Inquirer gathered that, by their training, a Police person is supposed to know the geography of the community, its lanes and neighbourhoods, pubs and palm wine or hard liquor joints as well as gardens and lorry parks and vehicle union chiefs. 

More recently, Okada boys and unions have also been added to the list of Police contacts and informants. 

We are told that though that secret has been let out, because it is the minions in the game who are usually arrested, instead of the goons and moneybags, the prosecution, usually not keen and professional for reasons of profit, add to the plot in lazy nailing of suspects, leaving the courts with little option than treating the kids with slaps on the wrist in punishments that do not much deter or hit the airwaves. 

“I can tell you galamsey has become a community plot and grand conspiracy…members of youth associations in communities play games that only lead to seizure of equipment that are not particularly expensive in the estimation of the goons, moneybags and financiers…These are NPP and NDC but also activists and polling agents known, sometimes, by the chiefs…As you know, in typical African communities, everybody knows everybody…,” our sources say.

Continuing his lamentation, one of our BNI officers explained that “It is easy for the Police to know gangs and gang leaders who the Police themselves use as informants, because knowing a community and youth activists is a basic responsibility and training a recruit is taken through.”

One way in which these galamseyers dribble Police and security agencies generally, according to our source, is that when they feel threatened, they themselves would generate and raise a false alarm. That includes leaking information on an exact spot where activity was ongoing. 

As one national service person would affirm, “immediately, they local boys scent trouble, they would first race to the area just to plant cheap logistics, ahead of any scheduled Police swoop, leaving behind such logistics that are overused and overaged or clearly needless for the Police to come for.”

By that, they create the impression that there were or, indeed, had been galamsey activities ongoing, but that the boys and girls must have fled upon a tipoff. When the NAIMOS personnel move to another site thinking they had dealt with this last assignment, the regroup and return.  

“I have colleagues in the respective regions and, I tell you, between the two political parties, this conspiracy and ‘Kokofu’ football is healthy and normal. That is why in the national interest, the fight against galamsey must be radicalised.”  

Given ongoing trend, it will only take a Military government with nothing to lose to end galamsey, catechist with the Roman Catholic Church in one of the Adansi communities in the Ashanti Region also told The Inquirer.