A socio-political pressure group, FixTheCountry Movement, has announced that it will hold a vigil on Sunday, September 21, at Revolution Square in Accra, to protest the ongoing environmental destruction caused by illegal mining (galamsey).
It said with the devastation caused by illegal mining going on unabated, there was an urgent need for collective action to protect Ghana's environment.
The Convenor of FixTheCountry, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, announced this last Monday, stressing that the fight against galamsey was a moral and spiritual obligation.
“On Sunday, September 21, we will have a vigil at Revolution Square, and on Monday, September 22 (a holiday), there will be a march, calling attention to the urgency of our environmental crisis.
“The responsibility to protect and preserve the environment is by divine assignment, ours as a people,” he wrote, adding that the issue transcends electoral politics.
“Our responsibility to end galamsey does not end at elections. Nor does it begin after our party loses one. This is bigger than petty politics,” he stated.
March
The convenor also revealed that the vigil would be followed by a public march on Monday, September 22, a national holiday, to further draw attention to what he described as an “environmental crisis of urgent proportions”.
He called on citizens from all walks of life to participate and demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding the nation’s natural resources.
FixTheCountry group has long been a vocal critic of successive governments’ handling of illegal mining, often arguing that political interference undermines enforcement.
Barker-Vormawor’s latest call seeks to channel public frustration into civic action.
In October 2024, it organised a three-day demonstration against galamsey and the government’s seemingly inability to deal with the issue.
