Some call it galamsey, others call it illegal mining or unlicensed mining.
No matter the name we give it, it is worrying. So long as it is an unsafe mining, it is an unacceptable venture.
Stopping galamsey is not and can never be an option. It just must be stopped, even if the activity is carried out by licensed operators.
Holders of valid driving licences who jump the traffic light are sanctioned as appropriate. The same must apply to operators in the mining sector.
We have gone beyond meeting to decide whether to stop galamsey.
It is gratifying that the President has spoken. The inaction, the indifference or the silence on the matter has been more devastating than the illegality itself.
It is as if they had Ghana in mind when Saint Kassiani, Bonhoeffer (the German Theologian) and Africa’s own Emperor Haile Selasie made separate statements on the threats of silence:
“I hate silence when it is time to speak,” Saint Kassiani.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who should have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better and the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has allowed evil to triumph” ‒ Emperor Haile Selasie.
The silence is now broken.
The next thing is action. And our focus is on the reclamation of the environment.
The soils, forests, water bodies, food products and all that nature gave us as safe sources of food and medicine must be reclaimed through swift and decisive actions
Let us make the best use of what we have.
Sylvester Asare,
Financial analyst.
E-mail:asaredsylver@yahoo.com
