Thinking of the environment @70 is a sign of ‘green wisdom’

By Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath

Former President JJ Rawlings (middle) among the audience at the symposium
Photo Credit: Daily Graphic 

A Ghanaian proverb says: “Wisdom is not like gold which may be kept in a safe.” If you are a sage, it will reflect in your image.

Ghana is blessed not only with abundant natural resources but also with statesmen and women of wisdom. Some of the wise men and women of our land are not only those who possess grey hairs. For example, some of the young media gurus like Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey of the Graphic Communications Group (GCGP) and his leading collaborators of the Media Coalition against Galamsey Campaign have their heads impregnated with wisdom.

Verily, verily, I say unto you that the war being waged against illegal mining by the Ghanaian media today may not be appreciated by some egocentric elements of the extractive industry of the present generation. Rather, it will take some future generations about 300 years to clap for the media for saving their farmlands, forests, rivers and water bodies for posterity.  

In this article, I would like to touch briefly on the ingenuity of some past and present Ghanaian leaders with particular reference to former President Jerry John Rawlings who has just celebrated his 70th anniversary. I was fascinated when I heard that as part of activities marking his70th natal day, there was going to be a lecture on the environment. Indeed, there was a symposium, on a broad theme: Protecting and safeguarding the national environment for the future generations.

 I found this aspect of President Rawlings’s anniversary celebration very instructive and productive nationally. President Rawlings’s environmental consciousness has been elevated to that degree of consciousness where the nation must take note of. A Gambian proverb on the environment says, “A tree which is not taller than you cannot shade you.”

On Thursday, June 23, 2017, the Daily Graphic carried on its page 52, a story headlined, and “Lecture on environment held to celebrate JJ at 70 today.” That story reported by Dominic Moses Awiah & Timothy was illustrated with a photograph of audience made up of President Rawlings and his family members, Ambassador Victor Gbeho and Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, Minister for Environment Science, Technology and Innovation, who could be seen standing and addressing the audience.

The story placed emphasis on what Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. John Peter Amewu, who could be characterized as the general commanding the current fight against galamsey in the country. Mr. Amewu was reported to have outlined a number of interventions the government intended to put in place to protect the country’s environment for the future generations. As a student of Environmental studies, Minister Amewu’s words sound like music in my ears. The earlier those interventions including forests plantations, conservation of biodiversity and protection of water bodies among others are implemented the better for the sustainable development of our beloved nation.

Naturally, President Rawlings cannot be singled out to be the first Ghanaian leader to demonstrate genuine concern about environmental protection and preservation in Ghana.  However, if President Rawlings were like some other egocentric former or present African heads of state,(don’t get me wrong-  I am not saying he is incorruptible); he could have  decided to  embark upon some ‘huhudious’ vacation on some distant luxurious touristic island on this planet of vanity to enjoy his 70th birth day party.

The fact that he thought of the environment, and devoted this anniversary to the awareness creation of the environment alone qualifies him to be baptized as an environmental angel of Ghana. I would compare President Rawlings to Pope Francis and President Barak Obama as far as his environmental consciousness goes.

Some other Ghanaian leaders or personalities who demonstrated their sense of environmental concerns in the past included former UN Secretary-General Busumuru Kofi Annan, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, the immediate past President John Dramani Mahama and the current President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Here are some basic facts or evidences to illustrate my point:

In March 2016, Mr. Kofi Anna was the special guest of honour who opened a two-day international conference of African forests here in Ghana. The theme for that event was “Forest for the future of New Forest for Africa”. On that occasion, Mr. Kofi Annan lamented about illegal mining or ‘galamsey’ as well as illegal timber operations that were destroying Africa’s forest cover.  In fact, he disclosed that about 130 million hectares of Africa’s “forest cover has been lost since 1990.”

As for President Kufuor, his concerns about the environment and climate change caught so much   global attention that in December 2013, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed him as UN Special Envoy on Climate Change, together with a former Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg to mobilize worldwide political will and action in an anticipation of a Climate Summit that was held in New York in 2014.

In September 2015, immediate past President John Mahama, too, was appointed Co-Chair with current Prime Minister of Norway, Ms Erna Solberg, to head a group of sixteen (16) eminent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates to support the Secretary-General in his efforts to generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

 Earlier in May 2013, President Mahama inaugurated a high-power inter-ministerial committee mandated to find lasting solutions to illegal mining or galamsey in this country. As to how and why that powerful anti-galamsey task force backed by the national security apparatus could not successfully accomplish their task only Jesus knows. And the consequence is what we are all witnessing today as a nation.

In April 2017, Ghana’s current President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo automatically took over the Co-Chairmanship of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates from President Mahama.  This was announced by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres on Tuesday, 11 April 2017 in New York as reported in the media. These United Nations appointments conferred on former or ruling Ghanaian heads of state should not be taken for granted at all. It is a great honour for a country’s leaders to be assigned such global responsibilities for the benefit of mankind. This explains why Ghanaians must accord uttermost respect to their leaders regardless of their political affiliations. Once a political party flag bearer is elected president of a country, all citizens are obliged to accord him or her necessary due courtesies due that office of authority. 

Since January 2017, when President Nana Akufo-Addo mounted that ‘horse’ as the leader of this peace loving country, illegal mining or galamsey has been one of the  issues that has been giving him sleepless nights. But his determination and commitment to combat the menace which he described as ‘a complex phenomenon’ is admirable. So far, under his command, his Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Mr. Peter Amewu has been making life unpalatable for recalcitrant galamseyers. The galamsey operators should be guided by this proverbs that, “Any child who says his mother will not sleep, he or she too, will not taste the fruit of sound sleep.”

All said and done, former President Rawlings’s commitment to environmental sanitation, especially in those days when he could snatch a shovel from any member of the public and to enter a gutter to clean the city of Accra has distinguished him from all the others. That act may be interpreted by various people to suit their own perception but it encouraged the spirit of communal labour among the citizenry. If today, at the age of 70, he could no longer physically do some of those exercises but would use the occasion of his natal day celebration to organise lectures or symposia on the importance of the environment, one can only proclaim him as a man of Green Wisdom.

The author works with Information Services Department ISD  abissath@gmail.com

Bravo, Media Coalition Against Galamsey: So Far So Fantastic!

By MAWUTODZI KODZO ABISSATH 

Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Ghana's Minister for Environment
showing a document to media gurus

 The wisdom of our ancestors is reflected in this patriotic proverb: "A comfortable foreign country is never the same as your own country no matter what!"

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017, the Ghanaian media demonstrated a sense of patriotism with the official launch of the media coalition against ‘galamsey’ in Accra. The objective of the coalition, among other things, is to play an advocacy role by creating awareness through public education campaigns about the destruction of farmlands and the pollution of rivers and water bodies as a result of galamsey activities in the country.

As ‘I sat my somewhere’ watching the scene on Ghana Television, I could not help but start clapping alone like a mad man in my office, for the Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) and the media partners. All those who matter in the media sector of the nation, including the Minister for Information, Mr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, were there.

I saw the veteran Editor of the Daily Graphic and former President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr Ransford Tetteh, play the role of ‘commandant-in-chief’ directing affairs. If I were writing a script for dramatisation, I would have characterised the Managing Director of GCGL, Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, as the protagonist of the whole caboodle. For I observed that he was more vociferous than all the speakers put together.

Then entered the General Manager, Newspapers, of that progressive media institution, Lawyer Yaw Boadu Ayeh-Boafo, who provided the legal rock upon which the entire episode was constructed.  It was fantastic and I say BRAVOOO to the entire media in Ghana.

Complex

However, something happened which took away the shine off the otherwise enthusiastic event. When the short video clip about galamsey was shown as a prelude, it nearly drew tears to drench the sublime faces of the audience. It was as if they were watching the funeral rites of the mortal remains of the future of mother Ghana. It was pathetic though!

On Monday, April 3, 2017, that is, a day before the launch, the Daily Graphic carried a banner headline: “Galamsey menace complex – But we will deal with it.” The headline was illustrated with an action picture of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The opening paragraph of the said story on page three of the paper was attributed to the President who said: “The government will soon roll out a well-thought-out strategy to deal with the menace of illegal mining in the country.”

The President described illegal mining as a “complex phenomenon with widespread interests and forces which required a comprehensive policy and legislation to deal with.”

In this write-up, I will not only concur with the President that “galamsey is a complex phenomenon” but I will also cite at least one example of illegal mining in some other parts of the world such as Mongolia and provide a guideline prepared by a United States (US)-based organisation about how to find some solutions to illegal mining challenges, as Ghanaian authorities may pick some ideas from the Mongolian experience to ensure the sustainable development of our beloved country.

The United Nations (UN) defines sustainable development as, “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  What galamsey is doing to our farmlands, forests and water bodies cannot guarantee the sustainable development of our posterity.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, merits a national award of the Star of the Volta, or even a nobel prize for designating 14 special courts across the country to independently handle all galamsey-related offenses. This is unprecedented in illegal mining history in Ghana. BRAVO, Madam!

Television images of polluted rivers such as the Pra River, Ankobra River, Birim River and Tano River being shown as part of the campaigns were as shocking as they were mind boggling. The newspaper stories of galamsey with graphic pictures and cartoons of some perpetrators of the illegal mining were very, very effective. The unexpected angry reactions from some diplomatic quarters and the call on government to guide and coach the media on how to do their jobs was laughable.

Diplomatic problems of galamsey

A research has shown that apart from ‘socio-economic, politico-cultural, safety/security and environmental problems of galamsey’, one major headache galamsey was posing to Ghana was ‘diplomatic.’ This finding was confirmed since the media coalition embarked on the fight against galamsey campaigns.

 The first evidence was what Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, told the media on the day of the launch itself. On that day, the renowned heart surgeon disclosed that he went to Cote d’Ivoire on a different mission, only to be ambushed by the angry Ivorian media to explain to them why Ghana was polluting rivers and water bodies in their country through illegal mining.  “They (the Ivorians) find it difficult to even treat the water to make it wholesome, and this is bad for us as a country because it paints a bad image about us,” he lamented.

The second evidence was a letter purported to have been fired by the Chinese Mission in Ghana on the illegal mining menace in the country. Media reports had it that the Chinese Mission in Ghana had issued a strongly-worded letter to Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr John Peter Amewu, expressing anger about how Ghana was dealing with the issue at stake.

The alleged diplomatic “note verbale” reads in part: (…) “It will be extremely harmful to the bilateral relations between the two countries if there are  reports of a casualty during the arrest of Chinese involved in illegal mining in Ghana.”  Really? How many Chinese illegal miners who are poisoning rivers and water bodies have suffered any casualty in Ghana?

Is the Chinese Mission in Ghana aware of the number of Ghanaian casualties who perish on a daily basis in galamsey pits? As recently as April 10, 2017, there were media reports that seven Ghanaians were killed in galamsey pits in the Upper East Region through explosion in the mines.  Can the Chinese Mission help prevent Ghanaian casualties so that bilateral relations between the two friendly nations would not be harmed?

Again, the Chinese Mission must be fair to Ghanaian authorities, in that it is not illegal Chinese miners alone who are being arrested or deported. Several West African citizens engaged in galamsey too are being arrested because the laws of the land do not allow foreigners to engage in small-scale mining. This sector is solely reserved for Ghanaian citizens. Even then, citizens who indulge in illegality are being arrested and prosecuted according to the law.

 However, the fact that some foreign missions would put diplomacy aside and threaten the sovereignty of Ghana based on mere media reports is an indication that the media war against galamsey is doing the trick. Aluta continua.

Illegal gold mining in Mongolia

In Mongolia, illegal gold mining is said to be very pervasive. Mongolians call it “ninjas” as “galamsey” in Ghana. The menace in that country is said to be driven by lack of opportunity, so tens of thousands of Mongolians, including children, are engaged in illegal mining, “often in extreme harsh and dangerous conditions…”

A strategy adopted by the Mongolian Government was to make it clear that all valuable minerals belonged to the state. "Gold, like other valuable minerals, is a state resource that should be reinvested in the country.” What is the state position in Ghana?

“More job opportunities for the youth must be created through education, so that dependence on mining is lessened. And we must try to prevent foreigners from taking our raw materials.” Can Ghana learn any lesson from Mongolia? Here is the source of this document for Ghanaian authorities to access it for further details.

Source: http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1939514/winners-and-losers-mongolias-mining-gold-rush

US-based organisation

A US-based international organisation called Inclusive Development International has published a document titled: Safeguarding People and the Environment in Chinese Investment. It reads:

“China has become one of the most important sources of foreign investment in the world. Chinese companies play various roles in overseas projects, from research and design, to construction, development and operation. Chinese financial institutions make many overseas projects possible by providing loans, foreign currency, insurance and equity investments.

“This investment brings with it potential benefits, but also human rights, social and environmental risks (emphasis mine).  Communities impacted by Chinese investments, and the civil society groups that seek to support them, often encounter difficulties obtaining project information, communicating with developers and financiers, and raising concerns or complaints. In response to this situation, state institutions, industry groups and an increasing number of Chinese companies and financiers have begun to adopt environmental and social standards for their overseas investments.

“This guide explains the key actors involved in Chinese overseas investment and describes the environmental and social standards and guidelines that apply…” Again, I hereby provide the source for concerned Ghanaian authorities to access for details.

Source: www.inclusivedevelopment.net/resources/publications/

Therefore, the Ghanaian media cannot stand and stare while some greedy elements among the present generation  compromise the survival of future generations.

The author works with the Information Services Department (ISD) in Accra. abissath@gmail.com

Ghanaian Media Must Combat Galamsey To Save The Nation

By Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath

Water bodies contaminated by Galamsey activities in Ghana

Here are two African proverbs about the environment: “A tree that is not taller than you cannot shade you”- Congo. “Man’s greed leads to the destruction of the environment” –Ghana.

On Thursday, March 23, 2017, the Daily Graphic carried a banner headline on its front page thus: “Graphic, GIBA, media to stop galamsey”. The said story was developed on Page 54 of the paper under a sub-heading: “Graphic, GIBA, media partners to launch campaign to stop galamsey.”

The call for campaign against galamsey was attributed to the Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr. Randsford Tetteh at a ceremony where Kasapreko Company presented some cartons of its bottle water to the Graphic Communications Group Ltd in connection with the World Water Day.

Mr. Tetteh is reported to have lamented the country’s water bodies were being heavily polluted by illegal mining of galamsey operators. “It is a campaign to protect our water bodies. The Pra, Tano, and Birim are almost gone.” Then he added, “It is only the Volta that is reliable. We need to fight this menace or we will end up importing water,” he opined. When I read that part of the story that, “It is only the Volta that is reliable”, I laughed mentally. Who told my visionary former GJA President that “the Volta is reliable?”  

The object of this article is not to pretend to be an expert on galamsey issues. But if I were permitted I would share some findings of my MA Research Paper (RP) in Development Studies at the International Institute Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Hague, The Netherlands, as recently as 2013-2014 academic years.

It will be recalled that in May 2013, former President John Dramani Mahama, inaugurated a high-powered inter ministerial committee against illegal small-scale mining in the country. That committee was simply dubbed ANTI-GALAMSEY TASKFORCE.

The powerful taskforce was made up five solid ministers of state, the military, the police, the national security and other security agencies and mandated among others to find a lasting solution to galamsey menace confronting the nation. In fact, their terms of reference included but not restricted to seizure of equipment; arrest and prosecution of both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians who fail to obtain licenses or renewing of their licenses before mining; deportation of illegal foreigners engaged in galamsey.

 Above all, the taskforce was empowered “to hold MMDCEs and their DISEC accountable for any illegal mining activities in their areas of jurisdiction.” This was contained in the speech delivered by President Mahama on the day the ANTI-GALAMSEY TASKFORCE was inaugurated. I accessed it on GBC website in 2013 and it formed the basis of my Research Paper. When the actual taskforce’s operations took off in June 2013, the whole world was set on an urge like anxious spectators watching Mohamed Ali and George Former in super heavy weight championship fight in 1974 in Zaire, now DR Congo. It was ‘butu-bubu.tubu’ apologies Kwatriot of yester year.  When some foreign galamsey offenders were arrested, detained and taken to their respective embassies for deportation, the episode caused global stir in some diplomatic circles and the international media. Ghana was seen as a xenophobic country.

It was against this backdrop that later in 2013, when I had the opportunity for further studies   abroad, I decided to do a content analysis of media coverage of galamsey for my thesis. I wanted to find out how the media do “frame” galamsey or illegal gold mining in Ghana, within the framework of sustainable development. So, my topic was “ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A Content Analysis of Media Coverage of ‘Galamsey’ (illegal gold Mining in Ghana – 2013-2014”.

For methodology, I relied sorely on secondary data collection by accessing galamsey related- articles through online research for the period under review. I used specific criteria to determine which media outlets published most articles on environment and galamsey issues since the inauguration of the Anti-Galamsy Taskforce. Based on that, I selected the Daily Graphic, Myjoyonline and the Ghanaian Chronicle from the local media outlets.

With the help of my supervisor, I picked BBC, China Daily, and the New York Times. Upon identifying my Problem Statement and formulating my Research Questions and objectives, my Assumption was that galamsey was causing environmental havoc to Ghana. In other words, before the study I assumed that it was only the environmental problems that galamsey was posing to Ghana. 

However, after critically reading through about 50 different galamsey-related stories from the six selected media outlets, and doing what was referred to as Sample Coding Sheet based on the raw data, for “Framing Assessment”, I was shocked to realise that apart from environmental havoc, galamsey was causing socio-economic, politico-cultural, safety/security as well as diplomatic problems for Ghana.

Thus, in terms of environmental problems, rivers and water bodies were being contaminated and poisoned by heart; farmlands were being devastated and forest reserves were being destroyed beyond imagination. In terms of socio-economic problems, because of the use chemicals such as mercury and cyanide by the galamsey operators, some rural women have been taking their children into the mines, thereby exposing their innocent kids to serious health hazards. Another social vice identified was that, in some deprived communities in the country, school children were dropping out of schools because of galamsey, while galamsey operators were luring rural girls into child prostitution.

In terms of safety and security, it was found out that most galamsey operators were being exposed to danger of having their hands amputated due to explosions in the mines. Worse still, some illegal miners were being buried alive in galamsey pits on daily basis. Some of these incidents were hardly known to the public. It is only when the media exposed some of the major pit collapses that claim many lives that the public gets to know about these dangerous events.

Again, the content analysis of the foreign media indicated that they were not too bothered about the environmental havoc of pollution of water bodies in the country. They focused on how the reduction of galamsey operations was affecting the price of gold on the world market.

Most of foreign media “framed” galamsey in such a way that emphasis was placed on deportation of foreign miners by Ghanaian authorities. The foreign media hardly explained to their readers the reason for the deportation of illegal miners. This framing of galamsey projected a very negative image of Ghana to the outside world. Some high-powered foreign delegates came to hold talks with Ghanaian  authorities to tamper justice with  mercy;  treat illegal foreign galamsey operators with human face. This is where the “environmental diplomacy” of galamsey emerged.  

Furthermore, the study revealed that galamsey was producing armed robbers and illegal gun traffickers and drug users who have been terrorizing our brothers and sisters living in galamsey operating communities in the country. And the executive, the legislature and the judiciary seemed to have been rendered powerless; and were only watching like ‘legba’ while galamsey activities were polluting water bodies with impunity. As for the ANTI-GALAMSEY TASKFORCE, only Jesus knows whether it is still in existence or it has become a toothless something.

It is therefore, recommended strongly, that the Ghanaian media must stand up and be counted.  They must respond to the call by the Graphic Communications Group Ltd, by putting all political differences aside and take the fight to the doorsteps of galamsey operators. This must be done through fierce campaign and public education to prick the conscience of greedy compatriots to save the present and future generations of our beloved Mother land Ghana.

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