A political scientist at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, is skeptical about government’s commitment to fighting illegal mining popularly known as 'galamsey'.

According to him, the Akufo-Addo administration “is treating the case with kids’ gloves and paying lip service to the problem.”

The country has been battling illegal mining for years now.

In 2017, the Akufo-Addo government set up a joint military and police task force to clamp down on the menace. But the task force withered out with little result achieved.

Fast forward to 2021, another special military operation began to remove all persons and logistics involved in mining from Ghana’s water bodies.

It followed the directive of President Akufo-Addo to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

It’s been over a year, yet, illegal mining is still prevalent.

It is on the back of these two unsuccessful operations by the incumbent government that Dr Asah-Asante is skeptical about government's commitment to fight the menace.

Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Wednesday, the political scientist believed that the government is tip-toeing around the problem instead of tackling the issue head-on without favour.

“Galamsey is a sorry story and let’s face it, government is not prepared to fight. If it were, it will be looking for people who commit this crime and definitely, they will find them.

“This is because the things that the people use, the machines that they use are too huge that even a child in that area where they operate can point to their owners,” he opined.