‘Effects of illegal mining could spell doom for Ghana’
Panellists at an anti-illegal mining forum in Kumasi, including small-scale miners, have stated that the devastating consequences of illegal mining could spell doom for the country if it is not halted immediately.
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Consequently, five out of the six agreed to the six-month moratorium and called for a sustainable way of ensuring that future mining brought development to the country while at the same time protecting the environment for posterity.
The representative of the small-scale miners association believed that the six- month moratorium must be lifted for them to work.
The six panellists also stated that the fight against ‘galamsey’ (illegal mining) was not a war on small-scale miners but all mining activities, both legal and illegal, that did not conform to the acceptable and sustainable ways of mining.
The speakers were the Convenor of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Mr Ken Ashigbey; the Chief Executive of the Minerals Commission, Mr Tony Aubyn; the 2016 Independent Presidential Candidate, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah; the Director of Operations of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM), Mr Emmanuel Yirenkyi-Antwi, and a representative of the Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA).
It was on the theme “United Against Galamsey- The Role of the Media”, and attracted members of the media and a large number of members of the Ghana Association of Small Scale Miners.
Convener
Mr Ashigbey said some Ghanaians, including himself, joined the crusade for the fear that if care was not taken the country would be destroyed because gradually the waters and trees which sustained life were being destroyed through illegal mining.
He noted that just as ancestors of slave victims were accused of being part of those who sold Africans into slavery, anytime the issue of reparation cropped up, the present-day generation would equally be blamed for the destruction of the environment and the country.
He bemoaned the rate at which both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians had imported huge earth-moving machines, including excavators, that were used to plunder and contaminate the water bodies and arable land, and hinted that the coalition might institute legal action against them.
Mr Ashigbey referred to recent research findings by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) which indicated that a large amount of poisonous metals from illegal mining activities have found their way into drinking water, fish, and animals and said some innocent Ghanaians were bearing the brunt by eating such foods through no fault of theirs.
He noted that the media coalition against galamsey was not against legal small-scale mining but frowned on all mining activities that were executed in a non-sustainable manner and tended to pollute the environment.
Dr Aubyn
Dr Aubyn said the era of blame game for the cause of the devastation through illegal mining activities should give way to finding solutions to the situation which threatened the future of the country.
He defined illegal mining as any mining activity that did not conform to acceptable trend and added that even those who had been given licence to mine as small-scale miners who used dangerous chemicals as well as those large-scale miners who resorted to unsustainable means of mining were all galamseyers.
Mr Osei-Yeboah said the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was not against small-scale mining but the attention on the industry had heightened because of the devastating rate at which some of them were engaging in their mining, leading to the destruction of the environment.
He said the small-scale miners had the potential to grow the economy and contribute to the development and progress of the country and urged the miners to resort to set standards.
Mr Osei Assibey-Antwi
Speaking on behalf of the Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Mr Osei Assibey-Antwi, the Transport officer, Mr Patrick Sebe-Soadwa, said some people were aware of the consequences of illegal mining but were hiding under the issue of livelihood to continue.
He called for the formation of strong advocacy group, who through dialogue and education would build the capacity of the people in the community to withstand pressures and also refrain from illegal mining.
Speaking for the small-scale miners, Mr Antwi said even before the media coalition against illegal mining could think of waging war against illegal mining, they had started fighting and destroying the activities and machines of people who engaged in illegal mining.