Editorial by Ghanaian Times: Depoliticising galamsey fight should not be mere talk

The conversation the Majority Leader, Alexan­der Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has broached in Parliament regarding the depoliticisation of the fight against illegal mining, popular­ly known as galamsey, is very important.

It is worthy of note that the case of broaching conversations on matters that affect the wellbe­ing of the entire nation should be an everyday practice or a norm in high places because this is where the movers and the shakers are.

In addition to galamsey and its devastating effects on the coun­try’s environment, there are other issues that affect the whole na­tion which need to be discussed in a non-partisan manner.

For instance, Article 71 under which a chunk of the country’s financial resources is doled out to politicians, and the call for it to be expunged from the 1992 Consti­tution needs to be addressed in the national interest.

The need to have a clear-cut transparent system to probe how politicians make money in the twinkling of an eye is another national issue.

Why should politics be more lucrative than industry such that today, a good number of young people prefer doing politics, even if at the periphery of being er­rand guys for frontline politicians?

The situation where the coun­try’s laws favour certain people in the society but punish ordinary people is also an issue of national interest.

Then the issue of public and civil servants demanding induce­ments from members of the public before rendering them ser­vices they are entitled to equally deserves national attention.

We live in a country where certain occurrences are brushed aside but are things that injure the nation in the eyes of the interna­tional community.

For instance, there is a video with the inscription ‘Abla Ame­wota Amable’ circulating on social media in which a woman is comparing how the police in the US are always ready to assist whoever needs their services but some police personnel in Ghana treat members of the public who seek their services with disdain.

The Ghanaian Times cannot pinpoint when exactly the video emerged, but by this time it should be news that the woman in the video has been invited by the police as a way of starting an investigation into the matter.

It is true that the police act on complaints but should that always be the case?

What the Ghanaian Times is driving at is that there are count­less other issues that deserve non-partisan discussion if the country should be a place where life is safe, peaceful, and comfort­able.

But while we say this, we think the case of depoliticising all issues deemed important in the national interest must not just be mere talk but action.

If that is the case, then one way to depoliticise such issues is to have laws that bite.

It appears the legislation deal­ing with galamsey, for instance, does not bite enough, which is why some politicians can say whatever can win them political marks about the matter to tacitly encourage galamseyers to perpe­trate their heinous activity.

It is also the case that there is no proper investigation instituted to probe rumours or accusations of the involvement of certain politicians, chiefs, and other high-profile persons in criminal activity.

It is clear the Majority Lead­er means well in his assertion to depoliticise the fight against galamsey, but he should act be­yond mere talk.