Let us ban all small-scale and medium-scale gold mining in Ghana

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• Marcus Ampadu 8 years ago

  The President, Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must take a dispassionate look at how mining, legal & illegal, is impacting our God given natural resources, our terrestrial & aquatic ecosystems, and how they stand to affect the f ...
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  The President, Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must take a dispassionate look at how mining, legal & illegal, is impacting our God given natural resources, our terrestrial & aquatic ecosystems, and how they stand to affect the future generations of Ghanaians.

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• Kofi Thompson 8 years ago

  Opanin, the president actually cares about the preservation of what is left of our nation's natural heritage.
  
  He will do whatever it takes to protect it - so we don't allow a greedy few to deny future generations Mother ...
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  Opanin, the president actually cares about the preservation of what is left of our nation's natural heritage.
  
  He will do whatever it takes to protect it - so we don't allow a greedy few to deny future generations Mother Nature's munificence too.

  reply
• Kwaadie Kofi 8 years ago

  What makes you think, madamfo, that Akufo Addo "will do whatever it takes to protect " our nation's heritage. Fat chance !

  What makes you think, madamfo, that Akufo Addo "will do whatever it takes to protect " our nation's heritage. Fat chance !

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• Kofi Thompson 8 years ago

  Opanin, as it happens, the president actually cares about the preservation of what is left of our nation's natural heritage.
  
  He will do whatever it takes to protect it - so we don't allow a greedy few to deny future gener ...
  read full comment

  Opanin, as it happens, the president actually cares about the preservation of what is left of our nation's natural heritage.
  
  He will do whatever it takes to protect it - so we don't allow a greedy few to deny future generations Mother Nature's munificence too.

  reply
• Oye Onye Kwasi Atta 8 years ago

  Previous government was amending existing mining laws to include medium scale mining but the has not been passed as of now. So legally we've only large and small scale mining in Ghana. The centre is missing

  Previous government was amending existing mining laws to include medium scale mining but the has not been passed as of now. So legally we've only large and small scale mining in Ghana. The centre is missing

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• Kofi Thompson 8 years ago

  Point taken, Opanin. Thanks.

  Point taken, Opanin. Thanks.

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• Tatiana 8 years ago

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• otibo 8 years ago

  Thompson,
  Every adultGhanaioan is aware that there is somkething in our culture called "KONKONSA".[fabricating information about someone to put his.her in trouble] In English law, what you have done amounts to defamation.
  
  ...
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  Thompson,
  Every adultGhanaioan is aware that there is somkething in our culture called "KONKONSA".[fabricating information about someone to put his.her in trouble] In English law, what you have done amounts to defamation.
  
  You provide no evidence to support your allegation that a NAMED INDIVIDUAL is acting in the way you allege. How do we know that you do not bear him a grudge for reasons known to yourself? Have you fought over a woman? Have you gto embroiled over financial matters?
  
  If you think that the Akufo-ASddo government will fall orey to such malicious articles, unsupported by any evidence (including the naming of sites) then you are fooling yourself.
  
  If, on the other hand, youdo have evidence, then let the authorities have it. No-one wnts to proitect people who are ravaging our landscape and destroying our Rivers and streams

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• Kofi Thompson 8 years ago

  Thanks for your good advice, Opanin. May I humbly suggest you read the article all over again?
  
  I think you will find that far from implying that the person you refer to as the named individual is "ravaging. our landscape a ...
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  Thanks for your good advice, Opanin. May I humbly suggest you read the article all over again?
  
  I think you will find that far from implying that the person you refer to as the named individual is "ravaging. our landscape and destroying our rivers and streams" today, it talks about a distant past that he himself has often spoken about publicly.
  
  In any case, he is at liberty to sue me for defamation in the law courts if he so desires. We will see where that ends us both. Hmm, Ghana - eyeasem o.
  
  Last point, I do have a lot of evidence about illegal gold miners and the way they work. This is not kokonsa, Opanin.
  
  I don't make things up. Ever. Everything I write is. well-researched and factual.
  
  With respect, if you ever go to Akyem Juaso, near Osino and Akyem Saamang, ask for "Thompson".
  
  My family owns 14 square miles of a freehold upland evergreen rainforest property in that section of the Atewa Range, which is part of a designated Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA).
  
  We have owned it since 1921 from the colonial era.
  
  As it happens, part of it was invaded by illegal gold miners - who left it suddenly after the NDC handed over power this January: obviously because their well-connected protectors could no longer pull strings from the shadows to render useless all my efforts at stopping them from destroying an area of forest that is one of the most beautiful places on the surface of the planet Earth.
  
  Massa, some of us have suffered a great deal from the activities of the greedy criminals engaged in illegal gold mining in this country. We know the type and know their psychological make-up very well too.
  
  Above all, we have no time for the nouveaux rich of this country who think they are God's gift to humankind because they have amassed wealth - and therefore somehow better then others. Konkonsa? Please.

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• Nana Asenso 8 years ago

  Before the invasion of the Chinese in galamsey, our indigenous people were into it but we didn't witness this spate of destruction. Gold is of the same price all over the world that's why the Chinese find it prudent especial ...
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  Before the invasion of the Chinese in galamsey, our indigenous people were into it but we didn't witness this spate of destruction. Gold is of the same price all over the world that's why the Chinese find it prudent especially where it is cheap to mine. Let us stop them ones and organize our people well to do it

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• kweku 8 years ago

  Kofi Thompson, your call for the abolishing of all forms of small scale mining without offering any suggestion which could improve the skills of these miners exposes you as ignorance, anti small scale mining and reckless!
  
  ...
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  Kofi Thompson, your call for the abolishing of all forms of small scale mining without offering any suggestion which could improve the skills of these miners exposes you as ignorance, anti small scale mining and reckless!
  
  Look, before the advent of this type of mining where they dredge the river bed, we were having legal small scale mining in this country which operate within the confines of law and were being supervised by minerals commission, EPA, NGO and other regulatory bodies.
  
  Listen, some of these small scale mining even carries on their operations underground and causes zero harm to the environment. what do you say to that?
  
  so, how could you suggest that the government must ban all forms of small scale mining but not tasking the government to come out with scientific solution to the problem?

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• Kofi Thompson 8 years ago

  Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Opanin. Your wisdom clearly shines through your writing. Brilliantly.
  
  I also accept that I am an ignoramus. Let me add that I know that I am also a big fool. However in this par ...
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  Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Opanin. Your wisdom clearly shines through your writing. Brilliantly.
  
  I also accept that I am an ignoramus. Let me add that I know that I am also a big fool. However in this particular instance, I am not a fool for nothing.
  
  Massa, the point needs to be constantly made that all small-scale (and the planned medium-scale category) gold mining must be banned in Ghana - to protect what is left of our nation's natural environment. Nothing else will suffice.
  
  We are actually talking about an existential threat to the Ghanaian nation-state and its citizens, Opanin.
  
  Thailand's tourism sector raked in over U.S.$40 billion in 2016 - from over 30 million visitors. Could Ghana not also build a lucrative tourism sector anchored on what is left of our nation's natural heritage - and create millions of jobs and wealth that could add as much as U.S.$10 billion annually to our GDP?
  
  So why should society tolerate destructive open cast gold mining by so-called small-scale gold mining companies that seldom follow laid down regulations, in any case - and eventually lose what is left of our nation's natural heritage that could create local green economic pillars across the nation as investments in community-based ecotourism initiatives thrive?
  
  The plain truth about the small-scale sub-sector of our national economy's gold industry is that it is run mostly by ruthless and thoroughly dishonest crooks mainly for the enrichment-by-stealth of super-crooks-in-high-places.
  
  Finally, kindly go and ask officials of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company and Bank of Ghana officials precisely how much Ghana earns from the export of the output of the small-scale gold mining sector. Zilch is the answer - because many of them collude with the foreign crooks who illegally buy and smuggle gold out of Ghana. That is a fact. I rest my case.

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• Anointed 8 years ago

  Hmmm !!!!! I can't think far
  Kofi Thompson , don't say galamsey must be ban at all course ,because it is this work that is sustaining majority of people in this country , The President must Bring his ONE DISTRICTS ONE FACTO ...
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  Hmmm !!!!! I can't think far
  Kofi Thompson , don't say galamsey must be ban at all course ,because it is this work that is sustaining majority of people in this country , The President must Bring his ONE DISTRICTS ONE FACTORY before he must try to put ban to it !!

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• Kwaadie Kofi 8 years ago

  Too many promises - SHS, 1 District 1 Factory, banning galamsey, making French compulsory in SHS, & now extending our railways to Burkina Faso; Which & when?

  Too many promises - SHS, 1 District 1 Factory, banning galamsey, making French compulsory in SHS, & now extending our railways to Burkina Faso; Which & when?

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