EFFORTS TO MAKE 'GALAMSEY' LEGAL (PAGE 20)

THE National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam Amoo, has said the government is seriously looking for a way out to make illegal small-scale gold mining activities in the country legitimate and profitable.
He explained that the government would provide the needed training and support, as well as protection, for those who would engage in legitimate small-scale mining activities.
However, he stressed it was also the responsibility of the government to protect the investments that some companies and people had made in the country, adding, "The major challenge is to protect those who have invested in the country."
Dr Amoo was speaking during an interaction with representatives of some mining communities in Tarkwa. They are Prestea, Huni Valley, Aboso, Mbea-Nsuta and Brumase, all mining communities in the Western Region.
He noted that the most important security was livelihood and that the government had serious plans to make their livelihood legitimate, saying, "Livelihood is part of human security, as well as national security."
The Western Regional Minister, Mr A. E. Amoah, said the government was interested in how everybody earned a living, "but we need to do things that will make everybody happy".
He said illegal mining activities had come to the notice of the National Security Council, hence the meeting.
Mr Amoah said the government had done well in helping the youth to secure jobs, adding, however, that that did not mean that they should go about their activities illegally.