Illegal miners have taken over the Hiawa Prisons Camp in the Amenfi Central District of the Western Region threatening the integrity and safety of the camp.
Though several complaints have been made by authorities of the camp, Chinese and their Ghanaian counterparts continue to mine illegally on the land.
A prison guard who spoke to 3News on condition of anonymity said, “we have reported this issue to the chiefs and elders of this community for several times but it seems they are all benefitting from the galamsey so they have done nothing about it. The last time I even heard they intended to litigate over the ownership of the land. We have inmates here and these activities can jeopardize the integrity of the camp”.
3News.com has gathered also that, even though the development was reported to the headquarters of the Ghana Prisons Service just when the illegal mining activities began which attracted numerous visits of top officers to the community, nothing positive has been achieved creating the suspicion that some high-ranking officers of the Prisons Service may also be benefiting from the illegal mining.
“It is rumored that their [prisons officer] superiors have agreed for the galamseyers to carry out their activities because they benefit from it”- a concerned member of the Hiawa community said.
Meanwhile, the Ayensu river which lies in the community is also suffering severe pollution from illegal mining activities.
Even though mining regulations makes it a criminal offense to mine in a 100-meter zone in the buffer of a river, illegal miners are not just mining directly in the river but have also channeled a wastewater containing dirty oil and other pollutants into the river.
3News has gathered that the particular site is operated by top constituency executives of both the ruling and opposition parties NDC and NPP.
Source:
3news.com
Source link
