Galamsey truly a canker that must be weeded out

Some illegal miners in Obuasi yesterday morning took to the streets to protest against an order by the Minerals Commission for them to stop mining in the main operating area within the concession of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA).

According to the quit order, the miners were to vacate the concession immediately or be forced out and relocated, but that obviously did not go down well with them, resulting in the irate miners vandalising the offices of some political parties, amidst chants of “No galamsey, no votes”.

The illegal miners refused to be relocated, claiming that the new areas offered them did not have enough gold deposits.

While it is no news that the AGA, as well as other mining companies and communities, has, over the years, had problems with galamsey operators, the events in Obuasi yesterday sent very worrying signals to the entire country.

The worry lies in the fact that people engaging in an activity known to be illegal could brazenly take the law into their own hands and not only resist their removal from a concession but also go on the rampage because they are displeased.

Their action certainly bodes danger for national security and the earlier we take a grip on the continually escalating ‘galamsey’ menace, the better it would be for us as a country.

The Daily Graphic is also worried that people practising illegal mining would be given a concession to mine on, instead of the state weeding out the canker by regularising the work of the ‘galamseyers’, if they truly want to mine, so that they do it sustainably.

As it is now, it seems that we are losing the battle against illegal mining if illegal miners can hold everyone else to ransom.

All our water bodies and large tracts of arable land have been destroyed as a result of the uncontrolled activities of ‘galamsey’ operators, but we seem not to have the answer to hold them in check.

We urge the Ghana Chamber of Mines to think of better ways to help solve this menace, otherwise we will wake up one day to find that we do not have any potable water because all the water bodies, as well as our ground water, have been polluted through the unbridled activities of illegal miners.

The consequence of illegal mining is a time bomb waiting to explode if we do not act now. The result will be too grave to handle if we stand aloof and watch ‘galamseyers’ destroy the environment and also attack anyone who tries to resist them in their operations.

But the truth must be told: The growing menace of ‘galamsey’ operations derives from the powerful forces behind the operations. Unless our chiefs, politicians and diplomatic missions back off from the dangerous operations, Ghana’s future development is headed for danger.