Where is Prof Gyampo, the so-called anti-galamsey crusader?

Ghanaian politics has become an embarrassing profession, not a noble profession it used to be. Needless to say, it takes good people—good citizens and leaders with impeccable integrity and unmatched commitment to build a prosperous nation.

Yet a lot of people who can claim birth right to steadfast adherence to moral or ethical codes would never go into politics.

I presume they dislike the toxic levels of partisanship. They hate the intrusive media scrutiny and they aren’t ready to pay the high personal costs of political life.

Once upon a time, anyone who gained a seat in parliament or was appointed into office was looked up to and respected by all. Alas, this is not the case anymore.

“As electoral competition has become more intense, the galamsey discourse has become increasingly partisan in nature. Opposition parties often bolster the position of illegal miners in order to make those in power unpopular and gain a partisan political advantage (Dr Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai, 2017).”

I was shocked to the bone when prior to the 2024 general elections, I chanced on a few video clips of some NDC officials, disgustingly giving morale and promising the recalcitrant galamseyers of a future NDC government’s unwavering support for their illegal activities.

What was more shocking from the video clips, is the revoltingly ugly attitude of one particular NDC official, who was apparently captured on tape a few years ago, and again unperturbed, and, somewhat convivially promising to go back to the galamsey sites to inform the illegal miners of NDC’s unfailing support for their criminal activities.

Considering the deleterious effects of illegal mining activities, it is not out of place for a group of Ghanaians to come out and emit their displeasure and threaten to stage demonstrations or go on strike.

It was against such backdrop that I was in complete acquiescence with some workers, including the University Teachers Association of Ghana who threatened to go on strike over the then administration’s perceived lacklustre approach in fighting the canker.

So I am just wondering if a certain Prof Gyampo, who was extremely aggrieved and vociferous over the galamsey menace prior to the 2024 general elections, has seen the squeamishly ugly scenes in our forests?

Apparently, Prof Gyampo has been given a juicy appointment at Ghana Shippers Authority and I guess has no time to vent his fury in condemnation over the galamsey menace.

There is no gainsaying the fact that some politicians have a penchant for needless misinformation metastasizing or an insatiable craving for attention.

So With this in mind, some of us can be excused for doubting President Mahama on his declaration to bring to a halt the activities of illegal miners in 2013(see: “We'll deal with foreigners in 'galamsey' - President Mahama”; Ghanaian Times/Ghanaweb.com 13/02/2013).

It would be recalled that sometime in February 2013, President Mahama held a meeting with the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, led by their President, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin at Flagstaff House.

During the interactions, President Mahama declared that: “The government will take firm steps to stop foreigners from engaging in small-scale mining activities in the country.”

President Mahama went ahead and asserted that "small-scale mining is the exclusive preserve of the people, and as such the government will not allow the industry to be flooded by foreigners.”

Sometime in May 2013, President John Dramani Mahama inaugurated a five-member inter-ministerial taskforce to fight the menace of illegal mining in which the members included the then Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, as Chairman, former Minister for Defence, Mark Woyongo, former Minister of Interior, Kwesi Ahwoi, Dr Joe Oteng Adjei, and Hannah Tetteh.

The task force was tasked to seize all the equipment the illegal miners were using to steal our mineral resources and destroy the environment.

In effect, the inter-ministerial taskforce was given executive powers to arrest and prosecute both Ghanaians and foreigners who were engaging in small-scale illegal mining.

The inter-ministerial task force was also to deport foreign illegal miners and revoke licenses of Ghanaians who have sub-leased their concessions to foreigners.

However, after a little over three years of the NDC administration setting up the anti-galamsey taskforce to circumscribe the activities of the recalcitrant illegal miners, The then Environment Minister, Mahama Ayariga admitted in 2016 that it was time for government to regularize illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) activities as a more proactive way to stop pollution of water bodies (see: Minister gives up on fight against illegal mining; myjoyonline.com, 15/09/2016).

The Honourable Mahama Ayariga admitted back then that the efforts to halt illegal mining activities failed miserably because “wherever there are mineral resources people will do everything and whatever it takes to be able to extract those resources (myjoyonline.com, 15/09/2016).”

It was, therefore, extremely commendable when President Akufo-Addo prudently placed an interim ban on small-scale mining activities.

Given the level of devastation on our water bodies and lands as a result of galamsey, some of us wondered why President Mahama could oppose President Akufo-Addo’s estimable efforts to curb the activities of the conscienceless illegal miners (See: Stop chasing illegal miners with soldiers – Mahama to government; citinewsroom.com/ghanaweb.com, 28/04/2018).

If the so-called anti-galamsey crusaders who were extremely vociferous over the galamsey menace prior to the 2024 general elections aren’t interested again, it is quite understandable.