Teenage pregnancy high in ‘galamsey’ communities
Teenage pregnancy is high in three mining districts of the Ashanti Region as men, engaged in galamsey in the area, use money to lure young girls into sexual activities.
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A research conducted by Good Governance Africa (GGA), a non governmental organisation (NGO) in the three mining districts, established that 226 cases of pregnant teenagers were recorded at the Atwima Mponua District Health Directorate between July 2016 and February 2017 alone.
The affected districts are Amansie West, Atwima Mponua and Denkyembuor, which are all mining communities with substantial records of illegal small-scale mining activities.
The research, which was conducted with the objective of collecting information on the socio-economic impact of ‘galamsey’ operations, among others, also indicated that the activities of the illegal miners were having a toll on the education of children in the affected areas.
It explained that students always had money on them and, therefore, often played truant while others dropped out of school since majority of them find work on ‘galamsey’ sites and make a lot of money.
The research revealed that prior to the operations of the ‘galamsey’ activities in those communities, the performance and school attendance of those children were very encouraging.
Unfortunately, however, most students, who registered for the 2017 BECE, for instance, abandoned school to engage in illegal mining activities, it further revealed.
The research also said that galamsey pits were scattered around the schools, which posed serious threat to younger children who played around in that enclave.
It, therefore, recommended that the state should enforce all the regulations stipulated in the various mining codes with regard to environmental reclamation; and suggested that firm rules should be adopted to ensure that miners covered the pits they dug when they ceased mining in those pits.
The report further recommended that government should bring together all stakeholders to dialogue and discuss the best ways to regulate the sector and enforce regulations that protect the lives of the people who engage in small-scale mining as well as those living around the pits.
The GGA is an independent and non-partisan organisation, which works to improve on the performance of governments on the African continent.
