Galamsey and the Chinese connection
Events of the past four weeks or so have shown that Ghanaians are generally agreed that galamsey is a menace that must be checked and completely uprooted if we are to preserve Ghana for generations yet to be born.
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Yes, we are all agreed that the destruction of our water bodies, farmlands and the environment generally is so massive that unless drastic measures are taken to curb the activities of the illegal miners we all face imminent doom.
It is heartwarming for the government to issue a three-week ultimatum through the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr John Peter Amewu, that galamsey operators must put a stop to their illegal activities or face the full rigours of the law.
The ultimatum has ended, and already there are reports that the galamsey operators are surrendering their excavators and other heavy equipment used in their illegal mining activities. If this is true then we can all shout “halleluya” and hope to see the end of galamsey sooner than later.
The efforts of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, led by the Graphic Communication Group, to see the back of this menace must be commended by all well-meaning Ghanaians.
Media leads
It has been a while since we saw the media come together in this country to fight the ills afflicting the society. We can only say “bravo” to this joint effort.
I believe, like many other Ghanaians , that the media are in the best position to expose the dangers of galamsey. Whether on the pages of the newspapers in the coalition or the screens of television, we can sit in the comfort of our homes and see the havoc that galamsay is wreaking on our water bodies and farmlands.
It is on record that the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, whose domain is one of the areas facing extinction as a result of illegal mining, has gone a step further to ask the government to freeze small scale mining because it is not different from illegal mining, other wise known as galamsey, that is destroying water bodies and the environment generally.
Describing small scale mining as official galamsey, he told the Daily Graphic recently that “There is no way we can deal with galamsey if we allow small-scale mining to subsist. Small scale mining must be BANNED alongside galamsey”
“In practical terms, there are barely any differences, either organisationally or technologically, between unregistered illegal miners and registered small-scale miners, the Okyenhene added.
Judiciary rises up
The judiciary could not be left out in the war against galamsey. The Chief Justice of the Republic, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has also announced the establishment of 14 special courts in eight regional capitals to deal with operators who will be charged for destroying our future with their illegal mining activities.
With all the public outcry against galamsey and with all the measures being taken to check the menace, is there any hope that we are going to win the war against galamsey in the foreseeable future, just like the slave trade was banned on three continents, some centuries ago, when the agitation against the sale of fellow human beings ferried across the Atlantic became unbearable?
It seems we have a lot on our hands in this holy crusade to ban galamsey because of opposition from some highly placed individuals who are refusing to see the destruction of the environment and the Chinese interest in illegal mining in Ghana.
It is the Chinese invasion to prospect for gold that appears to be dangerous. We all know that the Chinese are behind all the serious illegal mining in the country. They are the ones that are using Ghanaians to plunder our countryside for the sake of gold. They are the ones who are bringing in all the sophisticated excavators and other heavy equipment used in the galamsey business to pollute our water bodies and desecrate our farmlands.
It appears the few Chinese reported to have been arrested are set free later to return to their evil business deep inside Ghana.
Another scramble?
When I see pictures of Chinese arrested with their rifles they remind me of what we used to read in our history books of European adventurers of the 19th Century who traversed our virgin lands, some carried by our ancestors, looking for whatever rich resources they could get from the bowels of our land to send back to Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium and elsewhere to help develop their countries while under developing our continent.
Yes, the Chinese today are behaving as if there is another scramble for Africa, refusing to recognise that Ghana is a sovereign country like China with our own laws which they must respect and not trample upon.
Eye witnesses report that the Chinese are arriving in droves through our main gateway, the Accra International Airport, with fleet of buses waiting at the airport to cart them to the hinterland, as far as the remotest parts of the Western Region to engage in galamsey.
Can’t they be stopped at the airport and put back in the planes that brought them and sent back to wherever they come from?
We are behaving as if we don’t know what the Chinese are doing, allowing then to carry our gold straight to China without any opposition, while the Chinese authorities pretend they are against galamsey. We definitely seem to be afraid to clamp down on the Chinese illegal miners.
Meaning?
Last month, Daily Graphic’s Edmund Smith-Asante reported from Beijing that the Chinese government said it fully supported Ghana’s efforts to deal with Chinese nationals who breach the laws of Ghana in their quest to pursue benefits through illegal mining.
It, therefore, called for stronger collaboration with Ghana in its determination to fight the menace of illegal mining involving Chinese in the country.
This view was expressed by Mr Wang Dong, the Director of the Department of West Asian and African Affairs at the Ministry of Commence at Beijing during a meeting with journalists from 27 African countries who were in China on a media exchange programme
Mr Dong said dealing with the wanton destruction of the environment through illegal mining required greater co-operation between Ghana and China.
“On the other hand, the Chinese government strongly supports the fact that the law enforcement agencies in Ghana should do what you need to do to punish those who break the laws”.
“We will also supervise the Chinese companies, so that they fulfill their social responsibilities. We need stronger co-operation to handle these problems,” Mr. Wang added.
The question I want to ask is what kind of collaboration or co-operation are the Chinese talking about? What kind of social responsibilities do we expect from the Chinese for destroying our beautiful country?
Back in Ghana, the Chinese mission is telling our government to guide the media as to what they report on the Chinese galamsey operators.
What is the meaning of this? Can’t the Chinese mission tell their people to leave Ghana alone?
The former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources in the last administration, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, recently dropped a bombshell, saying a former Chinese Ambassador made every effort to frustrate the ministry’s fight against galamsey.
He said the ambassador offered him a scholarship if he could stop fighting the Chinese over illegal mining but he refused.
Do the Chinese want to recolonise Ghana after 60 years of independence? It is true we have had good bilateral relations with the Chinese, dating back to the Bandung Conference of 1955, five years before we attuned nationhood. And we have been good friends ever since. But this cannot be a licence for the Chinese to frown on our laws because they want to carry our gold to their country through illegal means.
Misplaced support?
As I have mentioned, apart from the Chinese, there are many other Ghanaians in high places who support galamsey, their argument being that it offers employment to many Ghanaians. Should that be the basis for government to legalise galamsey when the country is being slowly destroyed?
It is sad that the MP for Upper Denkyira West, Mr Nsowah Gyan, and his counterpart from Manhyia North, Collins Owusu Amankwa, have publicly come out to stand on the side of galamsey.
Certainly, those in support of galamsey are in the minority. All right thinking and well-meaning Ghanaians want to see the end of galamsey. The government cannot lose if it does the wishes of the majority. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and his team must therefore go all out to put an end to this menace. Posterity will not forgive them if they do otherwise.