Taskforce burning galamsey excavators sad, but necessary - Okyenhene
He said it is unacceptable for people to use unemployment as an excuse to destroy the environment by illegal mining.
Jonas Danquah 
Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, the Okyenhene has backed the government’s decision to burn illegal mining equipment.
He said the situation, though sad, is necessary in the fight against galamsey.
The Okyenhene noted this when the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources Cecilia Abena Dapaah and her entourage paid a courtesy call on him at the Ofori Panin Fie in Kyebi in the Eastern Region.
According to the Overlord of Akyem Abuakwa, it is unacceptable for people to use unemployment as an excuse to kill the environment by illegal mining.
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“The disciplined old cultures didn’t live by rule of law but lived by rule by nature. They were disciplined and respected nature therefore never destroyed water bodies. But this generation is bent on destroying the natural environment. When at all will galamsey be stopped?
“The excuse that people are engaging in illegal mining because there is no employment is untenable. Planting for Food and Jobs and other programs are some alternative livelihoods that the youth can take advantage of. It saddens me When I see excavators on Television being burnt but people are recalcitrant. If you leave it, they will return to site with it “ he said as quoted by pulsegh.
Addressing the media, the minister expressed worry over the devastation of lands along the Birim river and the muddying of raw water supply by the illegal miners. She called on Ghanaians to support President Akufo-Addo’s fight against illegal mining to help protect water bodies in the country.
