The Member of Parliament for Manhyia North and former Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Akwasi Konadu, has called on the government to urgently review the Blue Water Guards programme following allegations of bribery and impersonation involving nine of its members.
In a press statement published on his social media pages, Mr Konadu said the arrests at Manso Adubia in the Ashanti Region should serve as a wake-up call for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) and the government.
According to him, a programme established to provide community-based intelligence and support the protection of Ghana’s water bodies must not become an avenue through which illegal miners can compromise enforcement operations.
He warned that if information can be bought or enforcement movements compromised, the entire anti-galamsey architecture could be weakened.
Mr Konadu therefore questioned the continued expansion of the programme, noting that the government had announced the recruitment and deployment of an additional 452 Blue Water Guards, bringing the total number deployed to 2,069 across eight regions.
“Numbers are not effectiveness,” he stated, insisting that the government must focus on measurable environmental outcomes rather than personnel numbers.
He said government must establish who recruited and supervises the guards, how their intelligence is verified, their exact legal powers, how their movements are monitored and how allegations against them are investigated.
“Ghana does not need more slogans, uniforms, task forces and ceremonial launches. Ghana needs results,” he said, adding that the government must either radically reform the programme or reconsider its continued operation in its current form.