Is Ghana losing the battle against Galamsey and its environmental costs to sustainable development of the nation?

By Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath

How Galamsey contaminates rivers in Ghana

Do you remember that Bible story where the Master Jesus Christ is reported to have asked his apostles in a boat: “Why are you afraid?”  Then he added,  “You men of little faith?” (Matthew 8: 27).

 Ghana appears to be in that storm of socio-economic boat today. Ghanaians seem to be   overwhelmed by seemingly insurmountable challenges. Virtually all segments of our society from teacher cum nurse-trainees, ‘dumsor-celebrities’, Sodom and Gomorra heroes, pharmacists cum doctors etc. – all on warpath for one reason or the other. These kenkey and shiitor matters are so awesome that alarming galamsey activities ravaging our environment and natural resources are receiving little attention.   

Two years ago, precisely on Tuesday, May 14, 2013, at the main auditorium of the Flagstaff House here in Accra, President John Dramani Mahama, inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Illegal Mining – popularly dubbed ANTI-GALAMSEY TASKFORCE.

Anti-Galamsey Taskforce

This is partly what the President said about the membership of that high-powered Taskforce: (…) “In constituting this Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on illegal small-scale mining, I am sending a clear signal to the offending individuals and groupings that government will not allow their activities to cause conflicts, dislocation, environmental degradation, and unemployment, when in fact, the sector should benefit our communities and help develop Ghana.” The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources was to chair the taskforce, with   Ministers for the Interior, Defence, Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration as well as Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation as other members.

Mandate of Taskforce

“Your task is simple and straight forward. - To actualize my determination to bring sanity into the mining sector, including my pledge to ensure that the small-scale mining sector is reserved for Ghanaians.”  He went on, “Government is not against small-scale mining; what we want is for those who are engaged in small-scale mining to follow the required procedures that govern mining in our country,” said the President.

Specifically, the President charged the taskforce, “To seize all equipment used by those who fail to comply with the new directives of obtaining licenses or renewing their licenses; arrest and prosecute both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians, involved in small-scale illegal mining; to deport all non-Ghanaians involved in small-scale mining; revoke the licenses of Ghanaians who have sub-leased their concessions to non-Ghanaians against the rules; and also revoke the licenses of Ghanaians who have engaged the services of non-Ghanaian miners in the small-scale mining sector in ways that were contrary for any illegal mining in the country...” ordered the Commander-in-Chief of the Republic.    

If the 1992 Republican Constitution of Ghana mandates the Ghanaian media to hold accountable public office holders on behalf of the people then I think the media has not done badly at all. And that is the essence of this article. This author deliberately quoted verbatim some parts of the President’s address made on that occasion. (The full speech can be accessed on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s website http://gbcghana.com/index.php?id=1.1389360).

Appeal to Government

On Saturday, August 1, 2015, the Daily Graphic carried a story with a screaming banner headline on its back page: “Three Atiwa communities call on government to help curb illegal mining in their areas!” The story was illustrated with two pictures captioned: “The Birim River destroyed by the galamsey operators. INSERT: The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Antwi Boasiako Sekyere (right), explaining how the operators have destroyed the land to Nii Osah Mills (left) (Minister for Land and Natural Resources).

Mr. Erasmus Solomon, who filed that story from Atiwa stated that, “Residents of Akwaboaso, Akroful and Awerenare say apart from the daily threats to their lives, the illegal miners have taken over their farmlands and also polluted their sources of drinking water.” Thus, they have appealed to the government to save them from the illegal mining activities in the area. It is this appeal that prompts this author to write this article. It seems to me that if care is not taken, by the time the proposed Eastern Environmental University comes into being the entire Eastern Region of Ghana would have vanished from the face of the earth.  

Well-meaning Ghanaians may want to know whether the Presidential Anti-Galamsey Taskforce is still in existence. If yes, where are they? And are they aware of what is happing at Atiwa and other parts of the country where galamsey is dealing deadly blows to sustainable development of our only begotten country?  The other day, television news showed to the world how galamsey operators are destroying lands and rivers in the Wassa, Ayamfuri and other districts of the Western Region. River Ankobra is deceased. The touristic Lake Bosomtwi in Ashanti Region is being disemboweled. The magnificent savanna landscapes of Upper East Region are at the mercy of galamsey champions.   

Worst of all, galamsey vampires are fast crawling towards the newly constructed Bui Dam to suck its blood. That Dam now hibernating in the Brong Ahafo Region, took Ghana over 40 years on the drawing board. The white and black Volta Rivers are receiving their fair shares of galamsey dosages amidst the ravages of environment and climate change. Why?  Is Ghana losing the battle against galamsey and its environmental costs to sustainable development of our beloved nation?

·      The author works with Information Services Department (ISD), Accra 
Email: abissath@gmail.com