International journalist Kent Mensah has waded into the ongoing public conversation about illegal mining in the country has wondered why the military failed to protect the waterbodies from the menace despite the resources and state backing given them in 2021. 

According to the AFP and Aljazeera correspondent, it was unfair to blame other security agencies like the Ghana Police Service for the failed fight against galamsey, when the military was adequately resourced to address the menace. 

“What happened to the soldiers? In 2021, the Defense Minister announced that 200 soldiers had been deployed to protect our waterbodies from illegal mining (galamsey). So what became of that effort? Did the soldiers fail, or were they simply overwhelmed by the scale of the problem?” Mr Mensah, who also reports for the VOA, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday October 8,2024. 

He added: “We deserve answers. Blaming the police and other security agencies in this fight feels misplaced when the military, with all the state resources and backing, was tasked with protecting our water. If even the military couldn't succeed in this mission, it signals a much larger issue at hand.” 

In 2021, the Defense Minister Dominic Nitiwul is on record to have said the military was being deployed to fight the menace and protect Ghanaian waterbodies. 

Below are details of the Facebook post of the journalist 

What happened to the soldiers?

In 2021, the Defense Minister announced that 200 soldiers had been deployed to protect our water bodies from illegal mining (galamsey). So what became of that effort? Did the soldiers fail, or were they simply overwhelmed by the scale of the problem? 

“This operation will be conducted on all major river and forest reserves in all galamsey endemic regions throughout the country to rip them of illegal mining activities. There will be aerial patrols at places where the Ghana Armed Forces has also swept past. Armed men would be authorised to take immediate action on anyone who returns to these river bodies to engage in galamsey activities,” our Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul said at a press conference published on the Ministry of Information website dated 30 April 2021.

We deserve answers. Blaming the police and other security agencies in this fight feels misplaced when the military, with all the state resources and backing, was tasked with protecting our water. If even the military couldn't succeed in this mission, it signals a much larger issue at hand. 

Our future depends on the protection of our natural resources, and we cannot afford to let this go unanswered.