Nana Beyeeman Tano Kwaw Benbuin III
Nana Beyeeman Tano Kwaw Benbuin III, Omanhene of Aowin Traditional Area in the Western North Region, has expressed worry over the rate at which children of school-going age are indulging in prostitution at some illegal mining sites in the area.
He bemoaned the fact that some illegal miners were still doing galamsey and that most of the young girls in the area had turned themselves into sex workers and had been sleeping with galamsey operators.
He expressed the worry when the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Naana Eyiah, paid a courtesy call on him at his palace at Enchi, as part of the minister’s five-day visit to the Western North Region to assess some of the social problems in mining areas.
The chief said it was heartbreaking to hear that young girls, who are supposed to be in school, were having sex with the recalcitrant galamsey operators who are devastating land and natural resources.
According to the chief, information he had gathered indicated that the girls, between the ages of 13 and 19, were spotted around the ghettos of the illegal miners sometimes wearing skimpy dresses.
He has, therefore, appealed to the government through the Deputy Minister to help find a solution to the problem.
He commended the current Akufo-Addo government for the various initiatives it had taken to stop galamsey, saying “even though galamsey is still a problem here, the activities of Operation Vanguard have been helping to arrest the situation.”
Minister’s Response
The Deputy Minister, who is also in charge of mines, explained that she was in the area to encourage the young girls in the mining communities to take advantage of other alternative initiatives introduced by the Akufo-Addo government.
“I am here to help educate the young girls to stop engaging in the social vices and be determined to learn a trade; the government will support them,” she said.
She urged parents to do more to change the mindsets of their girls by highlighting the significance of education to them.
She noted that government had come up with Community Mining Programme to ensure responsible mining. She, therefore, called on the youth who had the expertise in small-scale mining to apply through the assembly.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Enchi
Pix saved as Enchi Mining in newdaily 2019