Over the past month, calls have intensified from several respected and therefore influential socio-economic groupings for government to declare a state of emergency in order to stop illegal artisanal mining activities in Ghana which has become an existential threat to the country and its populace.
Widespread expectations that the tragic helicopter crash which killed eight notable Ghanaians including two ministers, two state agency chieftains and three Ghana Air Force officers would persuade government to ruthlessly clamp down on illegal gold miners, have not been fulfilled. Rather President John Dramani Mahama has insisted that the declaration of a state of emergency should be a last resort since government has the means and legal backing to curb this dastardly practice without it.
To be sure, the incumbent government is doing much more than its predecessor, which was accused of protecting such activities rather than eliminating them. However, despite the significantly increased arrests, destruction of ‘galamsey camps’ and seizure of equipment, the gains have been incremental rather than pivotal. Illegal mining and the consequent devastation of the environment is still at levels which threaten the country and its people.
It is now clear that galamsey goes far beyond political misconduct and opportunism as well as sheer greed; it is being driven primarily by a combination of economic factors: surging gold prices, high unemployment and low income levels in rural hinterlands.
Government’s reticence is indeed in part political. A state of emergency would inevitably result in casualties that some of the very groupings calling for it would turn round to blame on government’s handling of the situation. Under those foreseeable circumstances we empathize with government.
However, this newspaper believes in the sage philosophy that the good of the many should outweigh the good of the few. While government seeks to protect the safety of the relatively few people engaged in illegal mining because of their economic challenges, those same people are jeopardizing the fortunes of the huge majority of the populace.
A recent report from the Environmental Protection Agency confirms scientific studies that our soil and water from which we get our food is being heavily poisoned as is the very air we breathe. An even more immediate impending challenge will be the significant increase in water tariffs that the populace will have to pay from next year due to the sharp increase in water treatment costs.
We therefore support government’s compromising stance on the issue, which will seek to turn affected forest reserves and water bodies into security zones that will be policed on a permanent basis. We hope that government appreciates the sheer logistical complexities that will need to be overcome to execute this strategy,
Furthermore, stakeholder engagements and a public enlightenment campaign is necessary to create awareness about how the strategy would be effected. The stakeholder engagement is necessary to win over the support and goodwill of the many stakeholders who have been demanding a state of emergency despite its potential downsides. The public enlightenment campaign would sensitize the communities where galamsey is still taking place, as to what they need to do to avoid getting caught in the inevitable “crossfire.”
To be sure, the effects of galamsey cannot just be wished away. Even if it is stopped, the damage to the soil, water and air will take a long time to recede. But we have to start somewhere and in the absence of an outright state of emergency, government’s proposed security zones is a good place to begin.
