The Member of Parliament for Manhyia North, Akwasi Konadu, has criticised the government’s Blue Water Guards programme, describing it as a failed initiative that is negatively affecting the fight against illegal mining.

In a press statement posted on his social media pages, the former Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources said the arrest of nine Blue Water Guards at Manso Adubia in the Ashanti Region over allegations of bribery and impersonating personnel of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) should not be treated as an isolated disciplinary matter.

He argued that the development raised broader questions about the design, supervision and accountability of the programme, which was established to protect Ghana’s rivers and other water bodies from the effects of illegal mining.

“This is not merely a failure of nine individuals. It is a serious failure of institutional design, supervision and accountability,” he said.

Mr Konadu questioned why the government was still confronted with allegations of misconduct despite previous concerns about the vulnerability of the Blue Water Guards to inducements from illegal miners.

He called for an independent and comprehensive audit of the programme, including its recruitment processes, supervision structures, operational mandate, disciplinary procedures and expenditure.

The Manhyia North MP said the government should measure the success of the programme by its environmental impact rather than the number of personnel recruited.

“You cannot measure the success of an anti-galamsey programme by the number of people recruited. You measure it by whether the rivers are becoming cleaner, forests are being protected and illegal mining is being pushed out of vulnerable communities,” he said.