The Minority Members on the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament have criticized the government for its alleged failure to account for funds disbursed in the fight against illegal mining, commonly known as 'galamsey,' in the 2024 Budget.

The group claims that $30 million was allocated quarterly to the now-defunct inter-ministerial committee for three years, with an additional GH¢5 million used in the government's engagements with traditional leaders and security agencies to address the galamsey issue.

Speaking to the media, Deputy Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee, Alhassan Suhuyini, emphasized the need for the government to be transparent and accountable to the public in its efforts to combat 'galamsey.'

“Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves why, this time in the budget statement, not even once has the ‘galamsey’ word been mentioned? After we have spent millions of Ghana cedis. The Interministerial committee was allocated $30 million every quarter, and they operated for three years.”

“That should tell you how much money has gone down the drain; they blew GH¢5.4 million just to interact on ‘galamsey.’ The question is, to what end? What are the benefits that we have from all of these?” Alhassan Suhuyini asked.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Opoku Ansah, wants the government to consider the establishment of a fund to repair the damage caused to river bodies by galamsey.

“Mr. Speaker, everybody is talking about ‘galamsey’ and how it has destroyed our water bodies. There’s the need for a fund to be set aside so that monies deposited in this fund will be used to repair destroyed rivers, construct new waters for our people, and ensure that the Ghanaian is assured of good drinking water,” Davis Opoku Ansah suggested.