Weekend Talk: ‘It’s worth the risk’
ONLY those who refuse to acknowledge the depth of our dilemma or the seriousness of the trouble we are in as a country with gold in our soils trivialise the danger we face.
Fortunately, we have distinguished persons in the country who care enough about our plight and are not silent. They include the clergy who embarked on a prayer demo, exuberant young people to whom the future belongs and sincere traditional leaders who keep watch over their land.
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I heard a leading politician make an important statement that I think summarises the attitude with which to approach the fight against galamsey.
But before I divulge that information, which I am withholding till towards the end of this article, let us dialogue a bit more on galamsey as a killer phenomenon.
Threats
About galamsey, we should never get tired of reiterating the threats facing us. For, the more we discuss the perils, the stronger our concerns and then we wouldn’t go to sleep over them.
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Can you imagine Ghana adding portable water as one of the commodities that compete for scarce foreign exchange because we are importing it?
Can you imagine the outbreak of strange diseases because chemicals used by the galamseyers have entered our water and food sources and metamorphosed into viruses for which there are no vaccines?
Can you imagine world cocoa consumers placing an indefinite ban on the purchase of Ghana cocoa because they continue to see a strain of dangerous chemicals in our cocoa?
Already, galamsey has devastated our cocoa farms and there seems to be no end in sight to the incessant rape of our plantations.
Can you imagine the frustration galamsey is unleashing on our Green Ghana campaign? Meanwhile, the destruction of our forests beckons the Sahara Desert! These are real threats.
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Upside down
Our land is being turned upside down. Illegal mining is taking place under railway lines, along highways and on people’s compounds. Buildings are collapsing into huge pits created underneath them by galamseyers.
Although gold is not edible, its appeal is stronger than hunger pangs and it is as addictive as the craving for the nicotine in hard drugs. Trying to deprive people of their gold is like trying to deprive drug dealers of their drugs. So they will fight back.
That is why some people argue that “shooting to kill” the galamseyers is inevitable. But can you imagine the mournful outcry that would erupt nationwide if it were reported to us that a thousand galamseyers have been shot dead in a month by security persons?
Subtle weapon
Last week, when I enumerated the weapons at the disposal of illegal miners, I internationally left out one weapon. This weapon is subtle and more dangerous than guns. It doesn’t kill, and neither does it stop the illegality. It is the “weapon” of bribery that resembles honey that is poured into the mouth to induce silence.
This kind of weapon operates in every sector of our socio-economic life, where rules are bent, justice perverted the innocent nailed while the guilty are exonerated. With the weapon of bribery, illegal miners could be protected instead of being dislodged — and the destruction would continue.
Therefore, the success of this war against galamsey is hinged precariously on the integrity of those who enter the mining sites to stop illegal mining. Can we count on the uprightness of those who are deployed to dislodge the galamseyers?
We are stewards
As stewards of God’s creation, our poor attitude towards nature affects our relationship with him, because we disobey him when we fail to take good care of what he created for us.
An example is the misbehaviour of discharging fumes such as gases, smoke and chemicals into the atmosphere, depleting the ozone layer and causing the climate change that is affecting us.
When we expect rainfall, there comes drought; when rain falls in excess, rivers get flooded, destroying farms, homes and people. When the sun shines directly on us due to defects in the ozone layer, we are not shielded from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Thus, our poor relationship with the environment directly affects our well-being. Galamsey is an example of a poor relationship with nature, leading to environmental ruin and its effect on us.
Worth the risk
Now, to the leading politician’s statement. “It is worth the risk,” he emphasised, as the nation is poised to fight irresponsible mining headlong.
He mentioned two of the risks: a reduction in gold production and the loss of jobs by the youth involved in illegal mining.
If we look only at the benefits of gold to our economy and job creation and forget the permanent devastation of our environment and the health hazards facing us, we may think the fight is not worth the risk. But it is worth the risk; so the fight must be waged and waged nonstop.
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The writer is a publisher, author, writer-trainer and CEO of Step Publishers.
E-mail: [email protected]
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