Galamsey: We can’t allow 100,000 people kill all Ghanaians – Editor

Editor of the Ghanaian Publisher Newspaper, Yaw Obeng Manu has urged Ghanaians across the globe to support the government in its fight against the galamsey menace.

According to him, Ghanaians cannot sit unconcerned and watch a couple of illegal miners destroy the environment for the larger populace.

“In all, I think the move by the gov’t and sector minister to fight galamsey is the right one. All Ghanaians must support this fight because persons involved in galamsey cannot be up to 100,000.

"Voters in Odododiodio alone are more than this number so why should we allow these galamseyers try to destroy the country and cost us a lot of money”, he said.

Water bodies from which one could drink directly from in the past have now been poisoned from illegal mining. “Streams have now been discoloured with aquatic life being lost. Anyone who drinks directly from streams now will end up in the hospital”, he added.

To him, the citizenry is equally as responsible for this environmental harm as illegal miners themselves. “We are all responsible for the galamsey menace. Chiefs, local authorities and the locals are fully aware of the persons involved in the illegality but choose to keep silent”.

On his authority instead of the culture of silence and petty partisan politics, each and every Ghanaian must speak up and support the government in its fight against galamsey. “We will destroy our future and leave nothing for the next generation if we keep on talking about the NPP and NDC. The fight against galamsey is a collective effort.

If we’re not vigilant and act like we need to in ending the galamsey menace, Ghana will face severe problems in the future”, he intimated.

One of the most significant policy challenges in Ghana today revolves around the question of how to address illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey. Recently the government led by the Ministry of Lands and Nautrual Resources organized a national dialogue on the way forward in addressing this menace, with the sector minister suspending prospecting licenses soon after.

With all these initiatives being undertaken, Ghanaians are hopefully the menace will end with environmental restoration becoming the government’s next priority.