By Amos SAFO
The demand by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for the government to declare a state of emergency over illegal mining has once more raised stakes on environmental destruction attributed to illegal mining.
TUC has urged the government to place an indefinite ban on all small-scale mining across the country, while steps are taken to restore our depleted rivers and forests.
However, as significant and pertinent as the TUC’s demands are, one may ask, why they are raising the issue barely three-months to the election. Are the TUC and other associations acting in the interest of any political party?
Nonetheless, TUC argues that the effects of illegal mining (popularly called galamsey) on Ghana’s economy could be more than the Covid 19 pandemic, if properly evaluated. This is because galamsey is wreaking incalculable havoc on our environment.
In fact, the devastating effects of illegal mining on Ghana’s rivers and other ecological endowments amounts to our collective failure to preserve our natural resources for current and future generations.
The concerns of TUC and other pressure groups have once again raised the red flags over the deteriorating conditions of Ghana’s water bodies, thanks to the rampaging, rebellious and ravenous attitude of illegal miners on our water bodies. No one needs any reminder that our water resources hold the keys to our survival, as well as the survival of future generations.
Indiscipline
Recently, I watched a video posted on social media which depicted some illegal mining operating on a polluted river without remorse. In the video, the illegal miners brazenly challenged security organisations to come after them, if they can.
They mentioned the name of the president with contempt, indicating that there was nothing he could do to stop them from earning their daily bread from illegal mining.
Anytime I watch the video, I feel a sense of despondency at the level of indiscipline that has become the brand of this country. When and how did our youth become so uncontrollable and disrespectful to the point of openly insulting the President of the Republic of Ghana, as well as ridiculing security agencies.
At the time of writing this report, the security agencies had not arrested the culprits. In the past the few who were arrested into police custody were released a few hours or days later. This is why they are still destroying our rivers with such impunity. Besides, the practice of small-scale miners subletting their concessions to illegal miners must be monitored and stopped, if we are to win the battle over the menace.
Historically, small-scale mining started in Gold Coast in the 14th Century when the Portuguese first arrived on the shores of the Gold Coast. The Portuguese met Ghanaian chiefs and queen mothers beautifully adorned in gold ornaments. This indicates that gold mining is not new in Ghana. The difference is that while our fore parents even with little technology mined gold sustainably, the current generations with all the technologies are rather destroying the environment with such carelessness. Judging from the carelessness with which we are destroying the environment, it is apparent that we are collectively losing our sense of direction. The desire to make money or profit over the collective good of society needs a critical societal revaluation.
Declaration
In his desire to combat illegal mining President Akufo-Addo put his presidency on the line. He therefore ordered a frontal attack on illegal mining through several joint security operations such as operation vanguard and operations halt one and two.
Sadly, these interventions yielded not positive result. President’s Akufo-Addo’s declaration nearly cost him the presidency, as the opposition candidate garnered more votes in the mining areas in southern Ghana. Moreover, the NPP lost all parliamentary seats in the mining communities which resulted to a hang parliament with no clear majority.
On the contrary, party bigwigs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC made illegal mining and the destruction of rivers and forests a cardinal campaign message. It is on record that NDC’s presidential candidate, ex-president John Dramani Mahama assured the illegal miners that he would release those jailed for destroying the environment should become president. He and his campaign team also assured the illegal miners they would be allowed to return to the forests and rivers to mine gold.
Thus, there was a deliberate and orchestrated plan by the opposition to undermine government effort to combat illegal mining and restore life to our ecology.
Added to the attitude of the position to derail every effort to combat illegal mining, the failure of the Ghana Armed Forces to bring its discipline to bear on the fight against illegal mining was unfortunate.
I had the firm belief that where the Ghana police failed to combat any threat, the military would become the last resort. Obviously, enforcement of the laws against illegal mining is the cause of our collective failure.
The leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police should do a sober reflection of the failure of their personnel to combat a national emergency like illegal mining.
Much as religious organisations and other association have a genuine concern over illegal mining and its effects on our environment; their failure to condemn the NDC’s policy of inciting illegal miners is hypocritical.
The same campaign
Little wonder that three months to another election, the same campaign to incite illegal miners against the government is gaining momentum. I support the demands by many Ghanaians for the two presidential aspirants to debate the issue of illegal mining and its impact on Ghana’s environment. They need to convince the electorate on how they plan to stop the illegal mining. The medium to long-term solution to the menace of illegal mining lies with the two aspirants.
This is because President Akufo-Addo has barely three months to stay in office and cannot make any meaningful contribution now. He fought a good fight against illegal mining but was disappointed by some of his appointees and the securities agencies. That is why the onus should be on the candidates of the two leading political parties to give the electorate a roadmap to restore sanity to the small-scale mining sector.
Contribution of mining to economy
Current figures indicate that gold produced by both large-scale and small-scale miners constitutes 8.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). This means that government cannot shut down small-scale mining immediately as demanded by the TUC and other interest groups. For this reason, any such action could affect state revenue and reverse governments social and economic projects.
What is more, some of the small-scale miners have legitimate licenses to operate and are contributing to GDP. Therefore, there could be an avalanche of legal action against government and the resultant judgement debts. Ghana is now Africa’s second biggest gold exporter of gold, with the small-scale mining contributing about 40 percent of the total output. This means if properly managed and regulated small-scale mining can increase its contribution to Ghana’s economic growth.
Young population
Ghana has a young population, most of who are unemployed. For this segment of the population, small-scale mining is a better alternative to be productively employed. An estimated one million youth are into small-scale mining, with most of them doing illegal mining, which has become a nagging headache for government and all of us. For this reason, there must be a proper framework for the regulation of small-scale mining for the sake of our environment.
At the heat of illegal mining in 2018, the government and its development partners launched an alternative livelihood to build the capacity of illegal miners.
The National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme for illegal miners (NAELP) is an initiative of the Government of Ghana under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, with the support of the World Bank. It was intended to provide good economic livelihood options to enable those adversely impacted to work and support themselves and their families.
The three livelihood coping strategies adopted by miners were farming, trading, and labor supply. Of the three, farming emerged as the most dominant livelihood coping strategy. Sadly, because most of the illegal miners have the penchant to make money quickly they did not offer themselves for the alternative livelihood training.
The desire to make money quickly is the cancer destroying our country. For such people, money carries more value to them than human life. This explains why some people often kill to make money. This equally explains why illegal miners are destroying our environment and water resources and thus, jeopardizing the future of generations yet to be born.
I am glad that the TUC in its statement described anyone trying to make any political gain on illegal mining menace as a nation wrecker and unpatriotic. I could not agree more with the TUC, though the timing of their advocacy raises many politically laden meanings.
For this reason, those planning to go on demonstration should reconsider their decision because illegal mining did not start today. It started back in 2009, when lands were allocated to groups and individuals close to the government at the time.
What is worse is that foreign nationals, Nigeriens, Burkinabes, Malians and Chinese were those controlling illegal mining in Ghana. Therefore, it should not take a few weeks to resolve illegal mining as TUC is other groups are demanding. The battle to stop illegal mining and restore our aquatic life is a collective duty for all Ghanaians. In this fight, everyone is the president, everyone is a minister, everyone is a chief executive officer and everyone is a security man or woman.
At the time of writing this piece I gathered that some politicians had transported some Togolese youth to some mining communities in Ghana to pollute the water bodies. The obvious goal is to whip up public opinion against the current government, with barely three months to the elections.
If this is true, the security agencies must act with equal measure and in the interest of Ghana. We cannot sacrifice the whimsical, capricious and desperate desire by any group of people to gain political power over our water bodies and environment. Once more Ghana is at the crossroads and our security agencies must rise to the challenge.
