The Ranking Member on the Lands and Natural Resources Committee of Parliament, Alhassan Suhuyini, has expressed skepticism about the government's ability to effectively address illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

This concern arises from ongoing mining activities along the Kumasi-Accra highway, which are polluting the Owere River, a critical water source for communities in Konongo and neighboring areas.

Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Minerals Commission reported that they were only aware of a dredging exercise authorized by the Asante Akim Central Assembly, but were not informed about the mining operations.

In an interview with Citi News, Suhuyini suggested that the involvement of government officials in illegal mining undermines efforts to combat the issue.

He attributed the persistence of galamsey to inadequate scrutiny and oversight in community mining programs, which he claims are often used to provide jobs for party supporters without proper training or regulation, resulting in environmental damage.

Mr Suhuyini also questioned the Asante Akim Central Assembly's assertion that they were only informed about dredging, suggesting that they might have intentionally misled the public.

“Look at how the community mining is done across the country. It is preserved or reserved as jobs for their boys in the various communities where mining takes place.

“No proper scrutiny and supervision is done. These people just engage in the destruction of their forests and land that is allocated to them. So I’m not surprised that it is happening in Konongo.”

“I’m not surprised that it is happening in the Upper East. I’m not surprised that it’s happening even in the Savannah region, around the Bole-Bamboi areas, where people are given these parcels of land because of their affiliation to the New Patriotic Party without any supervision, without any training, and they just engage in destruction.

“It is evidence of the fact that this government has simply checked out from the pretentious fight that they started because they have seen clearly that people have seen through the facade.”