Moree pupils call for urgent action against galamsey

Students and pupils from Moree in the Central Region have appealed to the government and stakeholders to urgently clamp down on illegal mining (galamsey), lamenting that the menace continues to affect their education and daily lives.

The learners from the Moree Catholic Basic A/B and Junior High School (JHS), the Moree D/A Basic and JHS and the Moree Methodist A Basic, revealed that for over three months, they have had to struggle to access clean water, which is negatively impacting the education.

They explained that after listening to the news and reading further, they realised that galamsey was at the heart of the crisis.

The schoolchildren made the appeal during the maiden Civic Education festival (CivicFest), organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in collaboration with the Fidelity Bank, on the theme “Protecting Our Environment: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”

Pupils

A form three pupil of the Moree Methodist JHS, Hawawu Mahmud, explained that although galamsey was not directly happening in their community, water sources in towns such as Twifo Praso and others in the Western Region had been heavily polluted due to the illegal mining menace.

She also recounted a painful memory from two years ago when their community endured severe flooding caused by sand winning activities along the shoreline.

Another pupil, Blessing Kwofi, added that the practice of people winning sand along the seashore had devastating consequences on the community.

A Form Two student at the Moree Catholic JHS, Paul Kwofi, additionally expressed concern that their school already operates a shift system, where some students attend classes from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and others take over afterward, which reduces contact hours.

He said that unlike other schools across the country that close around 2 p.m. or 3 p.m., their system puts them at a disadvantage, and any water crisis would further hinder their education.

Charity Nyame Aidoo added that many people had to walk to nearby communities to fetch water before school, which often caused them to be late.

“We are late for school because we must fetch water from other communities first,” one pupil explained. “Those destroying our water sources do not think about us and our future,” she added.

They, therefore, urged the government to introduce strict regulations and enforcement of environmental laws, stressing that those who destroyed the environment were endangering their future.

Speaking at the event, the Central Regional Director of the NCCE, Mercy Essien, charged the pupils to take personal responsibility for protecting the environment, adding, “Even the sea is now full of plastic waste due to human activities.

“Instead of getting waste bins and disposing of refuse properly, many of us choose to burn rubbish in our homes, which pollutes the air we breathe.”

Ms Essien told the pupils that they could also help protect the environment by changing harmful practices in their own small ways.

She cautioned them against open defecation, throwing rubbish into gutters and burning refuse in open spaces, stressing that such acts only worsened the situation.

She encouraged the schoolchildren to be bold in questioning their parents and elders whenever they engaged in behaviours that harm the environment.

Weather pattern

Ms Essien further stated that the weather pattern had changed drastically, warning that it was now difficult to predict the rainy season as it used to be.

She called on the youth to reduce habits that harm the environment.

The Cape Coast Manager of the Fidelity Bank, Benjamin Kwame Aikins, reminded participants that although his company handles money, its survival depends on the well-being of communities.

He quoted the Bible, urging everyone to protect the environment, and added that, ironically, many who considered themselves educated and literate were the ones most responsible for destroying it.

The Director of Environmental Health, in a speech read on his behalf by an Officer in charge of Hygiene Promotion at the Environmental Health and Sanitation Department at the Central Regional Coordinating Council (CRCC), Emmanuel Owusu Ashia, cautioned that galamsey had poisoned food and water sources, putting everyone at risk.

The festival featured drama, poetry, performances, and art exhibitions, all created by students using environmentally friendly products.