Galamsey fire dragons must not dare cool ocean
octopuses
By Mawutodzi Kodzo
Abissath
 |
| How illegal miners take risks to endanger their lives |
Our
ancestors used their native wisdom to caution: “Never put your finger tip into
the fangs or mouth of a snake that does not bite.”
On
Monday, July 31, 2017 the youthful Ghana’s Defence Minister, Hon. Dominic
Nitiwul demonstrated the wisdom of King Solomon when he wisely advised residents
of galamsey ravaged communities in the country not to provoke soldiers and
police officers being assigned to their areas. He gave the warning in the
lions’ den at the Burma Camp in Accra where over 400 dreadful looking combined contingents
of armed soldiers and police officers had gathered for the official launch of
was dubbed as “Operation Vanguard”.
The
world-acclaimed heart surgeon and Ghana’s Environment Minister, Professor
Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng who is also the Head of President Akufo-Addo’s Cabinet
body of responsible eminent Ghanaians presented government’s strategy of
tackling the galamsey challenges. Earlier on July 10, 2017 the President
addressed a galamsey forum of traditional authorities in Accra and announced
that plans were afoot to ‘arrest the galamsey menace and preserve our heritage’,
as he put it.
In
this article, I shall pretend to be seen as one of the Environmental ‘Watch Dogs’
of Ghana, and add my insignificant voice
to that of the Defence Minister to humbly appeal to our brothers and sisters in
galamsey devastated communities to respect the authority of the President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. They
should be mindful of the fact that the President has put a rope around the neck
of his presidency, and vowed to stop illegal mining in Ghana once and for all. All law-abiding galamsey engineers should
heed the Defence Minister’s call and do nothing to provoke the already disturbed
peace loving Ghanaian soldiers. Please do not dare them! They not there to brutalize
you, but to protect you and the future of your children yet unborn.
“The entire country is behind the 400 soldiers
and police officers to be stationed across three regions, namely Ashanti,
Eastern and Western,” the Defence Minister reiterated. Then he cautioned
repeatedly that no seven-headed-fire-spilling
galamsey dragon should provoke the sleeping octopus in the person of the
calm, cool and self-disciplined peaceful Ghanaian soldier. Ghanaian soldiers
don’t like ‘gidigidi’or ‘basabasa koraaa oooo’! I beg you oooo! But if you
attempt to put your finger into their nose, they will not smile at you at all.
I know them very well!
Other authorities who spoke for the
Commander-in-Chief on that occasion included the Interior Minister, Hon.
Ambrose Dery, the Environment Minister as mentioned above, and the Minister for
Information Mr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid was there. Many people might not know the
role Mr. Abdul-Hamid has been playing behind the scene for the success story
of the Media Coalition against galamsey so far.
Above
all, the Chief of Dense Staff Major General Akwa and the Inspector General of
Police, Mr. David Asante-Apeatu all spoke to the military cum police battalion
against galamsey at the Burma Camp Operation Vanguard launch ceremony. They all
gingered but urged the contingent to be fair but firm and carry out their
duties a professionally as possible. “You are not there to brutalize the
people”, they were reminded. “But you
reserve the right to defend yourselves with commensurate force if your lives
are put at risk”. They were also cautioned not to allow their selfish interest
to blind them in collecting mouth-watering gifts from powerful galamsey
pay masters.
The
fate that befell the late Major Mahama at Denkyira Obuasi is still fresh in
Ghanaians’ minds. This is why our brothers and sisters of galamsey kingdoms
should not play any tricks with soldiers and police officers on duty in their
communities.
The
truth is that Government is not saying that unemployed hungry youth should not
engage in small-scale mining to feed themselves and their loved ones. NO! No Government of Ghana has ever denied
Ghanaian citizens the right to engage in small scale mining. What they have
always said, and which Nana Akufo-Addo’s government is also stressing is that,
if you are a Ghanaian and wants to engage in small-scale mining, please do so
in accordance with the laws of the land. If care is not taken it is only
lawlessness that may lead this peaceful country into a ditch one day.
“Torfiakwa!” As for foreigners, whether you are from America, Australia, China,
Burkina Faso or Nigeria, please keep your contaminated galamsey hands off
Ghana’s small-scale extractive industry. Period! The lawd do not permit you to
do so.
The law governing operations
of small-scale gold miners
The
Small-Scale Gold Mining Act, 1989, (PNDC Law, 218) among other things
stipulates, …“A person licensed to mine gold under this Act may win, mine and
produce gold by aneffective and efficient method and shall in the operations
observe good mining practices, health and safety rules, and pay due regard to
the protection of the environment.”
This
Act was issued as far back as on19th day of April, 1989 and notified in the
Gazette on 2nd June, 1989. It has been in operation for nearly 30 years now
without “wahala.” Why must it take
Government to deploy 400 strong battalion of soldiers and police officers today
to enforce this law as if Ghana was going to war against some terrible terrorists
from unknown planet? Something must have gone wrong somewhere. And our elders
say: “A child, who doesn’t want the mother to sleep, will also not sleep
either.
Since
April this year when the Media coalition against galamsey advocacy was launched
under the leadership of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), the
entire media in Ghana have proved beyond doubt that, it is not for nothing that
Edmund Burke, a member of the House of Commons of the then Great Britain, in
parliamentary debate, described the press as ‘the Fourth Estate of the realm or
governance in 1787. Thus, any person or group
of persons who joke with the media do so at their own peril. Have you heard the
saying “the pen is mightier than the sword?”
Why should Ghana be
like any war-torn country?
It
appears because some people of modern Ghana have never seen war with their
naked eyes before, they seem to wish Ghana could go to war against itself one day. But Ghanaian soldiers who have been
participating in UN Peace-keeping operations since 1960s the know the anatomy
of wars. So, they have been praying that their country should never experience
wars.
It is alleged that a certain
group calling itself Association of Small Scale Miners in the Ashanti Region had
threatened that “Ghana will be like Ivory Coast if they prevent us from
visiting our sites”. It was against that background that Ghana’s Defence
Minister issued a stern warning that residents of ravaged galamsey communities
should not provoke our brothers and sisters in uniforms when deployed.
In
Ghanaian culture, it is believed that when an elderly person is in the house,
children are not allowed to engage in deadly fighting that may lead to maiming
or killing of one another. The Ga will rhetorically ask: “Onukpa be dzen loo”?
The Akan would say: “Opany ni fieho aanaa”? And the Ewe would put it this way:
“Tsoo – ametsitsiadeke mele afima oo haaa?”
I
have laboured to quote these traditional idiomatic expressions in their respective
local dialects, even though the spellings might not be perfect. But the
philosophy behind them is for the attention of Ghanaian traditional
authorities. I wish to politely refresh their memories that when the President addressed
them at the galamsey forum on July 10, 2017, he appealed to them to support him
to eliminate galamsey.
Nana
opined that, because traditional authorities are the custodians of all lands in
Ghana, they have a responsibility to help stop galamsey. As the elders of the nation, traditional
authorities cannot sit down unconcerned while the youths in their communities may
attempt to confront or provoke soldiers and police officers stationed in the
areas of galamsey operations. They should remember Denkyira Obuasi.
Suggestion for
consideration
First,
all paramount chiefs in galamsey-prone regions should quickly summon their
sub-chiefs and inform them about the coming of the anti-galamsey friendly
battalions. Then the sub-chiefs in turn, should hold durbars or town hall
meetings for their people, especially the youths and counsel them accordingly. They
should reason out with them that Ghana Government is not against them. Rather,
Government’s actions are meant to protect them and the future of their own
children to get good food to eat, potable water to drink and fresh air to
breathe.
Thus, when they see the soldiers and police
officers coming, they should run away, rather go towards them and make them
“aaatuuu” like the savior. They should help them to flush out all illegal
miners be they local or foreigners. But for heaven sake, they should not provoke
the soldiers and police officers who are their fellow Ghanaians.
No comments:
Post a Comment