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The Artisanal & Small Scale Mining Africa-Network (ASMAN) views HE President John Dramani Mahama's statement describing Kyebi as the �headquarters� of galamsey as an indirect or inherent confirmation of the widely held belief that militarization through the use of a task force to stop illegal mining (galamsey) in the country is not the best approach. The statement made by the President during a tour of the Eastern Region recently, has been met with displeasure and mixed feeling from some chiefs and people of the area, who saw it as not only inappropriate but an embarrassing tag to Kyebi. Even most unfortunate is the political twist given to the matter which is of utmost important to the socio-economic development of this country. We at the Artisanal & Small Scale Mining Africa-Network (ASMAN) do not only share in the feeling of the chiefs and people of the area but wish to state our point of view as civil society organization promoting sustainable small scale mining in the country as follows: �That the statement from the President has by inference emphasized the argument of some civil society organizations in the country (especially ASMAN) that the militarized approach to curbing the menace of illegal mining is not the best. Obviously, the regulatory agencies and the key stakeholders would admit that Kyebiman was not a galamsey headquarters prior to the establishment of the Task Force; so how come about a year after the task force operations, galamsey has seemingly spilled out of control, not only in the Eastern Region but Western, Ashanti and other mining areas of the country as well. �That, the obvious probability is either there is connivance between the illegal miners and the task force (which is our most likely suspicion) or the task force is simply failing to carry out its mandated duty and rather go round assaulting operators who do not succumb to their illicit demands, destroy and loot their property, seize and burn equipment and other valuables, and these formed the basis of our call for investigations into the activities of the task force and subsequent review of their operations. �That, despite the deportation of most foreigners engaged in the illegal mining menace, most of their seized equipment which were not properly secured, has been left in the hands of some MMDCEs and other opinion leaders who are allegedly using them to perpetuate same illegality. It is therefore an obvious truth that even though most of the mining pits dug out by the foreigners before their deportation remain uncovered, more have been dug and several river bodies polluted by the local illegal miners. ASMAN furthermore wish to recall that, a recent statement by President Mahama that the World Bank and Chinese Technology will partner the country to embark on a Reclamation Project to reclaim the dangerously abandoned pits will be given serious attention. We hope with this �galamsey headquarters tag�, Kyebiman would be given a lead-start opportunity to benefit from this intended reclamation programme. ASMAN ones again believe that this perceived failure of the inter-ministerial task force brings to the fore, the need to revive and establish the district mining committees. We therefore wish to call on the sector minister: Hon. Inusah Fuseini to expedite action in this regard. The Small Scale Mining Committees, as stipulated in Section 92 of the Minerals and Mining Act 703, 2006 which functions states �the Committee shall assist the District Office to effectively monitor, promote and help develop mining operations in the designate area.� It is our conviction therefore that if these Committees are in place, they can effectively monitor and assist the reclamation project at the grassroots level For us in ASMAN the menace of galamsey is a national challenge, nonetheless it requires both national and grassroots approach in dealing with it. Signed Nii Adjetey-Kofi Mensah Executive Director - ASMAN Tel: +233 208161636 Email: [email protected]