Ghana was once admired for its responsible underground mining practices that safeguarded forests, rivers, and fertile lands. Today, however, the nation is bleeding from the wounds of uncontrolled surface mining—popularly known as galamsey. What began as small-scale gold mining has evolved into a state-enabled environmental catastrophe, threatening the health and future of millions of Ghanaians.
From Responsible Mining to Ecological Disaster
Ghana’s shift from regulated underground mining to destructive surface mining did not occur naturally. It stemmed from external economic pressures and internal political compromises—echoes of the colonial exploitation mindset born at the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, when Africa’s resources were mapped, invaded, and looted.
Surface mining has:
- Destroyed major rivers such as the Pra, Offin, Ankobra, and Birim.
- Polluted the food chain with mercury and cyanide.
- Displaced communities and crippled rural agriculture.
- Turned lush forests into barren wastelands.
As an African proverb warns, “When the last tree dies, the last man dies.” Sadly, this prophecy is fast becoming Ghana’s reality.
The Galamsey Cartel: A Crime Protected by Power
Galamsey continues not because of ignorance but because powerful individuals benefit from it. Despite government taskforces and anti-galamsey campaigns, illegal mining thrives under the protection of influential networks linked to:
- Political actors and party financiers.
- Security personnel.
- Traditional authorities.
- Foreign mining syndicates.
- Corrupt officials within regulatory bodies.
Those entrusted to protect Ghana’s natural wealth are selling the nation’s destiny for personal gain. This ongoing destruction is not just negligence—it is a betrayal of public trust and of generations yet unborn.
As former President Jerry John Rawlings declared:
“You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.”
Sadly, too many of today’s leaders are part of the problem.
Voices of Courage: The Heroes of Resistance
Amidst this betrayal, a few brave traditional leaders have stood firm to defend their people and the environment.
- Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Dr. Nana Agyemang Badu II, has vowed to arrest anyone who engages in galamsey within the Dormaa Traditional Area.
- Nana Quasie Essiem IV of Whindo (Effia Kwesimintsim) rejected a GH¢2 million bribe from illegal miners and confiscated their excavators, declaring:
“I need money; we all do. But I will not mortgage the future of my people.”
Such leaders deserve national celebration—not the politicians who finance environmental destruction under the guise of development.
Galamsey Is Environmental Terrorism
Illegal mining is more than a legal offense—it is environmental terrorism. Ghana is heading toward a public health disaster reminiscent of Japan’s 1950s Minamata Disease, where mercury poisoning from industrial waste caused severe birth defects, neurological disorders, and death.
Today, mercury levels in Ghana’s rivers, fish, and crops are dangerously high. If nothing changes, future generations will inherit a poisoned land where clean water and safe food are luxuries.
Who Opened the Gates to This Doom?
Policy failures, weak institutions, and poor governance paved the way for this national tragedy. Mismanagement and negligence have included:
- Granting over 1,600 sq km of virgin land for mining without securing Ghana’s mandatory 10% state equity.
- Failing to enforce Act 465 on state participation in mining.
- Weakening environmental protection through the Minerals and Mining Act (Act 703, 2006).
- Allowing mining in protected forest reserves.
- Ignoring expert warnings from the Minerals Commission.
- Losing over 30,000 football fields’ worth of forest cover to deforestation.
These failures have left Ghana’s resources vulnerable to foreign domination and environmental collapse.
The Way Forward: Choosing Survival Over Greed
To save Ghana from irreversible ruin, declarations and slogans must give way to decisive action.
1. Declare Galamsey a National Security Threat
Recognize illegal mining as organized crime and environmental terrorism under the law.
2. Establish the Ghana Environmental Recovery Fund
To be financed by:
- Legal mining companies.
- Fines imposed on political figures who enabled destructive policies.
- The sale of confiscated illegal mining assets.
3. Enforce Laws Without Fear or Favor
- Impose maximum prison sentences for galamsey kingpins.
- Seize assets and prosecute collaborators.
- Ensure zero political interference in legal proceedings.
4. Restore Water Bodies and Forests
- Deploy EPA’s nano-liquid decontamination technology.
- Reforest destroyed biodiversity zones.
- Enforce a total ban on mining in all water basins.
5. Provide Sustainable Alternatives
- Create jobs in agro-processing, reforestation, and eco-tourism.
- Promote ethical and technologically advanced small-scale mining practices.
6. Strengthen Environmental Institutions
- Empower the EPA and Forestry Commission with full enforcement authority.
- Dismiss compromised officials and ensure transparency.
7. Name, Shame, and Celebrate
- Publicly expose financiers of illegal mining.
- Honor defenders of the environment such as Dormaahene and Nana Quasie Essiem IV.
Conclusion: Are We Accountable to the Future?
We are not owners of this land but temporary custodians. Galamsey is not merely an economic issue—it is a betrayal of our ancestors, our children, and our nation.
Silence in the face of this destruction is complicity. Illegal mining threatens our water, our health, and our very survival as a people. What we destroy today will destroy us tomorrow.
The future is watching. Ghana must rise again. The fight against galamsey must be relentless—our collective battle cry for justice, survival, and dignity.
Source: modernghana
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