In order to finally lift her family out of abject poverty, Madam Naomi Tabi hoped that her son would succeed on the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), register in the Agogo State College that he had always wanted to attend, and become a soldier.
Her dreams to excel in life were dashed when her son Atobra fell fatally into a local galamsey (illegal gold mining) pit. The event occurred just two weeks after he finished taking the BECE test at the Manso Nkwanta D/A Basic School.
He left the house that day with three other boys and returned. He went again that evening when I put my nursing infant to bed and never returned. After the tragedy was reported, she and her family only heard a banging on the door and people calling their names again.
Samuel Anim, a 16-year-old boy, radiated optimism and enthusiasm. Not just Manso Nkwanta was the subject of his nightmares. He had always wanted to move to Kumasi because he thought there was a higher chance of realizing his dreams there.
Samuel Anim died on November 8, 2022, at 10 p.m., after visiting the Galamsey site with three other friends. The site’s owner had previously turned them away. His companion persuaded them to return at night when the site’s owner would not be there after they had been sacked, as they had previously collected gold from the area.
With her hands covering her head, Naomi grumbled, “I am disabled because of the surgery I had during childbirth.” He has been the one to help me with chores around the house and other things, and he does this for himself as well.
The people of Manso Nkwanta, Asuminya, and BebouabOwu in the Amansie West District have gone through this heartbreak and have learned to deal with it because clandestine mining is their main source of revenue.
A citizen and parent named Edward Assuming claimed that “drinking water doesn’t save one from drowning.” “Our own property has been destroyed by unauthorized mining. Even though farming is outclassed by galamsey, we are ready to assume responsibility for whatever comes our way. This youngster went for the money, he said. If everything had worked out for him, he would have received 80 cedis, the cost of one cocoa bag.
How can you as a parent handle and discipline such a child given that he is obviously more wealthy than you are? There is no need to be concerned about passing away in Amansie West because some residents must work in the illicit mining mines. Children swim and play in these unclean waterways called Subini.
A month before Samuel’s death, the assistant headmistress of the Amansie South District passed away after tripping and falling into a galamsey pit. The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) reports that two people have drowned in the last three months, adding that “it’s becoming common.” Despite our best efforts, NADMO has been visiting the sites and offering education, but they are not paying attention to us.
The Law
Small-scale mining (SSM) companies are required by the Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (L. 1652) and the Mineral and Mining Regulations, 2012 (L. 2182) to ensure that any places harmed by their operations are repaired.
Small-scale mining companies operating across the country routinely fail to submit reclamation bonds 22 years after L.I. 1652 was approved, according to the Auditor General’s S report.
I’ll be making two concessions to someone tomorrow. The area is about fifty acres. I couldn’t care less what they do with the land once I sell it for roughly 1 billion [GHS 100,000] cedis. The Fourth Estate cited residents of Amansie West as saying, “I do not care whether they report it or not.”
Residents assert that the government is helpless to stop galamsey in the region since they cannot sit on money while others go hungry.
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