The General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of TUC-Ghana has CSOs across the country in condemning wanton acts of destruction by illegal mining – calling them a looming danger, particularly for the country’s food security agenda.
A press statement signed by the union’s General Secretary, Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe, and copied to this paper indicated galamsey remains one of the major threats to agriculture, exposing the nation to challenges of scarcity and expensive food – with damning consequences from climate change and critical health implications for the citizenry.
With over seven thousand, four hundred and seventy (7,470) cluster categories of galamsey, GAWU noted that the country has lost about 2.5 million hectares of forest reserve to illegal and uncontrolled mining – a phenomenon that it maintains has become a huge threat to biodiversity.
The union further notes that over one hundred thousand acres of cocoa farms have been destroyed, with over thirty thousand acres of oil palm plantation ravaged.
Meanwhile, water-bodies remain polluted and unsafe when exposed to crops – and several farmers have been forced to give up their farm lands, either through coercive means or from frustration born of no further hope in agriculture.
The country’s place in producing cocoa and oil palm is disappointing, not because of inability to produce more but as a result of encroachment and farmers being forced to leave their farms to make way for galamsey activities in many of these communities.
The union estimates that Ghana loses some US$2billion annually to destruction of cocoa farms for galamsey activities.
It is as a consequence of the above that the union has expressed solidarity with Organised Labour and other civil society organisations in calling on government to declare a state of emergency to salvage the situation.
To this end, the union has asked President Akufo-Addo to act swiftly to salvage agricultural lands and water-bodies without further delay. It also asked government to prioritise the reclamation of destroyed lands and restoration of polluted water-bodies.
Also, GAWU is asking for the immediate revocation of LI 2462, and the arrest and prosecution of persons/groups destroying cocoa farms, oil palm plantations and other agricultural lands for purposes of galamsey.
Coupled with the above, seventeen Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, in a coalition, have through a statement called on the president and parliament to address the critical issue of illegal mining that has been wreaking havoc on the country’s agricultural and aquatic ecosystem.
They also called on the Chief Justice, IGP, Chief of Defence Staff, National House of Chiefs, MoFA and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministry to join the fight against this canker.
The coalition demands immediate and decisive action to combat the menace – including the cessation of all galamsey operations, immediate resignation of the Minister of Mines and Natural Resources and his deputies, restoration of degraded land and promotion of agroforestry efforts, among others.
In 2022, the Ghana Statistical Service indicated that galamsey’s impact on the environment makes the economy lose an estimated US$2.3billion annually, as over one million individuals are directly involved in the activity.
Similarly, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) indicates there is currently widespread depletion of Ghana’s forest reserves taking place. It also noted that 78 percent of freshwater bodies are being destroyed by various negative environmental activities, among which galamsey features prominently.
This has been corroborated bythe Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), which last year confirmed that there are alarming pollution levels in water-bodies and much forest cover loss.
Among other key demands, the coalition has asked the Food and Agriculture Minister to publicly denounce galamsey’s impact, protect farm lands, support affected farmers and advocate sustainable agriculture practices.
Indeed, in the past few weeks public anger against illegal mining has been growing – with pressure being mounted on government to act swiftly to stop the activity.
Prominent personalities like the Asantehene, Otumfuor Osei Tutu II, and associations like the Catholic Bishops Conference, Ghana Bar Association and Office of the Chief Imam have all joined calls for the menace to be completely stopped.
As a result, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has set up a five-member ad hoc ministerial committee to engage stakeholders in assessing efforts to deal with illegal mining activities popularly known as galamsey.
Galamsey has indeed gained notoriety in recent times and it behoves us all as a people to tackle this menace head-on and safeguard posterity for generations unborn.
