Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato has decried the worsening state of illegal mining in the country in the country.
Dr. Zaato, a known critic of the galamsey menace in his media engagements, lamented the deteriorating state of it in the past year, attributing it to the operations of the GoldBod, in a post on his Facebook page.
“The GoldBod has successfully legitimized galamsey in Ghana,” Dr. Zaato wrote, in obvious reference to the GoldBod’s exclusive access to buy gold from small-scale miners.
Many have argued that GoldBod’s operations and strategy of exclusively buying from small scale miners, also target and encourage illegal miners who operate under the guise of small scale miners.
Dr. Zaato’s Facebook post blaming the worsening state of illegal miners on the GoldBod, attracted varied views.
While some disagreed with him, majority of those who contributed agreed with him, saying the GoldBod is only interested in buying gold and doesn’t care how it is extracted and the effects on the environment.
Other comments also slammed the media and civil society organisations who used to fight against illegal mining, for suddenly going quiet even when the situation has evidently worsened under the current government.