The Youth Organiser of the ruling NPP in the Brong Ahafo Region, Kwame Baffoe, says the Ghanaian military is using the cover of the anti-galamsey taskforce to exact revenge for the killing of Major Maxwell Mahama.
Abronye DC, as the political operative is popularly known as, says reports of galamseyers being ‘accidentally’ killed and mining equipment being burned are the means of revenge being employed by the military.
Operation ‘Vanguard’ is a government launched anti galamsey operation to fight the menace which is sweeping across the country. However, since starting, the operation has seen some excesses – with a civilian gunned down in what was described as a shootout and many illegal miners losing their equipment.
“The soldiers are already angry and are retaliating what was meted out to one of them two months ago at Denkyira-Boase. That is why they are killing some of the miners and burning down their equipment”, Abronye said on Okay Fm.
He added that the operation was affecting people who had legally gotten licenses to mine.
In his estimation, those with licences should be left to mine and the operation targeted only at those involved in illegal mining.