Fight galamsey like you did with Free SHS - General Matheen to Akufo-Addo

Ghanaian businessman Jinsah Abdul-Matheen has appealed to Ghanaian politicians to desist from politicizing conversations around the illegal mining menace.

In an opinion piece published via his social media handles and multiple media platforms, General Matheen, as he is known, appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to use the last two months of his tenure to fight galamsey head-on.

General Matheen reminded President Akufo-Addo of his promise to put his presidency on the line and urged him to establish another legacy by fighting galamsey.

“The government may feel that a complete onslaught on galamsey may impact them in the 2024 elections, but I believe President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo can tackle this menace effectively and make it his legacy, just like Free SHS,” he said.

General Matheen also called for dispassionate and non-political conversations on galamsey, urging both political parties to commit themselves to ending the menace.

General Matheen surmised that the country is already reeling from the impact of illegal mining and the onus lies on leadership to take decisive action against the canker.

“Already we are feeling the impact. I watched the interview of the pathologist and researcher at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof. Dr. Paul Osei Sampene, on Channel One TV (formerly Citi TV), who confirmed that the rising cases of babies born with defects are directly linked to the intake of water and food heavily polluted by galamsey activities. The issue of terminal ailments like kidney diseases, etc., are all linked with galamsey.

The impact of galamsey knows no party color, and while some politicians may be able to afford imported water, we need to ask ourselves how many Ghanaians can survive on imported water sustainably.

“So, this is the danger staring us in the face, and instead of confronting it head-on, all I keep hearing is the trading of blame by politicians across the divides,” he said.

The galamsey menace has become topical in recent weeks, with some members of the Democracy Hub and some Ghanaians taking to the streets to protest against it.

On Friday, October 11, 2024, the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra also took to the streets to demand immediate action against it.