The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II has used the occasion of his 15th anniversary to charge chiefs in the Ashanti Region to meet the menace of illegal mining squarely.

"We must all unite to nip this creeping menace in the bud and protect the heritage we have inherited. I call on Nananom to wake up and put an end to this".

The Otumfuo was speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of some gated communities at Prabon in Kumasi last Friday.

The ceremony forms part of activities to mark his 15th anniversary as the King of Ashantis.

But the Ashanti region's natural resources have known little peace.

The government's galamsey taskforce continues to struggle to  flush out thousands of illegal small- scale miners, including foreigners.  A more daunting task of reclaiming the thousands of acres of degraded lands left behind by the 'galamsey' operators remains to be tackled. 

In Tontokrom, Dompoase, Subriso in the Ashanti Region large acres of land are dotted with huge pits, while many water bodies like the Offin river have been heavily polluted.  

The menace has claimed lives as deep pits have on several occassions buried its desperate guests.

Galamsey has now become Ghana's greatest environmental challenge as it continues  the destruction of lands and river bodies.

The Asantehene said no activity can justify the destruction caused by galamsey. Otumfuo has also condemned what he describes as destruction of the country’s ecosystem.