Fight against illegal mining can’t be stopped

After over seven years of waging a relentless fight against illegal mining, the efforts appear to have been a wild goose chase.

In spite of the numerous interventions rolled out by the government to curb the menace, the illegal miners continue to wreak havoc on land and water resources with impunity.

Illegal mining, popularly called galamsey, has led to the destruction of swathes of agricultural lands, including the wiping away of many hectares of cocoa farms.

Forest reserves, which play a key role in human survival and mitigating global climate crisis, have also been significantly impacted by galamsey.

The heavy pollution of major rivers such as the Ankobra, Pra, Offin and the Black Volta by galamsey operators through the use of poisonous chemicals such as mercury and cyanide puts the country at risk of water insecurity.

The dire health consequences of drinking water polluted through galamsey is imminent, with researchers and health experts already establishing health complications linked to the menace.

The current state of affairs leaves one at a loss as to why in spite of the deployment of special security task forces such as "Operation Vanguard", "Operation Halt I" and Operation Halt II," illegal mining continues unabated.

It is in this regard that the Daily Graphic finds it worrying that political interference is reportedly fuelling the canker.

There are reports suggesting that some very influential personalities, mostly politicians, are directly or indirectly involved in galamsey.

As recently as last week, a front-page story the Daily Graphic carried on its February 21, 2024 edition said interference by politicians and traditional rulers continued to fuel galamsey, particularly in forest reserves.

According to the story, some district managers of the Forestry Commission had said while their rapid response teams risked their lives to arrest recalcitrant illegal miners under precarious environments, political figures and chiefs exerted their authority to get them freed.

They also told the Daily Graphic that in the circumstance, some illegal miners who were arrested by the rapid response teams and handed over to the police were let off the hook.

The fact that the official of the Forestry Commission pleaded anonymity for fear of victimisation even tells a bigger story of how deep-rooted the political interference in the galamsey fight is.

While it is always argued that there must be incontrovertible evidence to establish the involvement of politicians in galamsey, it is also a concern that people in position of power are always mentioned in the perpetrating of the crime against nature.

The Daily Graphic is of the view that there is the need for the political class to demonstrate their commitment to fight the wanton destruction of the environment in the name of mining.

When relatives, friends and politically affiliated persons are caught in the web of galamsey, they must be made to face the law to the letter to serve as a deterrent to others.

When politicians and traditional rulers intervene to get them freed, they are emboldened to perpetrate the act. 

Political figures who are found to be fuelling the act must be named, shamed and prosecuted to send a strong signal to others that enforcement of the laws against galamsey knows no class.

The Daily Graphic calls on all stakeholders to rally round the flag of Ghana to help deal with this existential threat called galamsey.

The mandated state institutions, including the ministries of Lands and Natural Resources, Defence, the Interior, as well as the Minerals Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Regional and District Security Councils must work in a coordinated manner to deal with the galamsey menace. 

It is also important for traditional leaders, civil society organisations in the natural resource sector and environmental activists to keep an eye on the small-scale mining space to help weed out the bad lots who are destroying the environment.

The Daily Graphic also calls on the Ghana Police Service and the judiciary to prioritise the speedy prosecution of persons caught engaging or fuelling galamsey.

When cases involving illegal mining are unnecessarily delayed, it does not help the fight against the menace.

There are reports suggesting that illegal mining reaches the crescendo during election years.

Ghana is in another election year, therefore, there is the likelihood of galamsey soaring.

Citizens and the electorate, in particular, must also be on the lookout for politicians whose posture encourages galamsey.

 Such persons must not be given our mandate.