Ashanti GNASSM chairman calls for dialogue, end to attacks on miners following the Bonteso incident:
Following a recent clash between a police task force and community members in Bonteso, leading to arrests and alleged fatalities, Mr. Frank Osei (aka Denero), Chairman of the Ashanti Chapter of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM), has called for a halt to all operations and a collaborative dialogue to address errors in the mining practices.
Speaking during a visit to Bonteso, Chairman Denero stated, “We understand that there are some errors or mistakes in our work, but how they are being addressed is not the best. We are therefore pleading with the authorities to halt all operations and come and sit down with us in a discussion and education to ensure that reclamation is done regularly after mining.”
Mr Osei emphasized the commitment to working together for the betterment of Ghana. “We are ever ready to sit together because we know we have only one Ghana. It’s not the best that Ghanaians are always in the desert going to Libya and other countries. We’ve seen that the Ghanaian youth are suffering; some are dying due to these hardships. Thanks to God that He’s given us these real minerals to mine. So, if we are mining and there are mistakes, it’s not about gun attacks, but the solution should be the good policies to guide us on how to mine the right way.”
Chairman Denero also expressed concern over the portrayal of Ghanaian miners as criminals. “It is never fair to attack Ghanaian miners and be shielding others. It is very worrying that we are being portrayed as criminals, which is never the case,” he concluded.
