ONE issue that continues to confront us as a country is the practice of illegal mining, which is popularly referred to as galamsey. It is basically a practice where, especially the youth of gold mining communities, use very crude and dangerous methods, albeit illegal, to prospect for gold.
THE practice is endemic in many of our gold mining communities. While they are called galamseyers in Ghana, they are known as orpailleurs in the francophone countries.
IN Ghana, galamsey has left and continues to leave in its wake deaths of innocent persons. There have been instances where pits have caved in on galamseyers and have killed them.
THEIR operations also continue to pollute water bodies, to the extent that many communities in the areas where galamsey is endemic have no source of good water. Farmers have lost their lucrative farms to illegal mining and lands which once produced food for the people have been rendered unproductive. Galamsey has not only been injurious to the environment, it has also left farmers displaced and robbed of their livelihoods.
IN the wake of the above many have called for a total ban on galamsey for the obvious reason that it is illegal. Though several measures have been employed in the past to ensure that galamsey is completely dealt with, it continues to stare us in the face—this time around the operators arming themselves with all kinds of weapons just to ensure that they survive.
ONE such measure was the use of the military/police to arrest and deter people from venturing into galamsey. It worked initially but eventually could not cure this galamsey disease. The fact is it will take more than just military and police deployment to gold mining areas to clamp down on the menace
IT is in the light of the above that Today urges the Akufo-Addo-led government to open up a national debate on galamsey. We know several of such debates have been held in the past regarding whether to legalise or not to legalise galamsey.
IN the opinion of Today it is imperative that we find a lasting solution to this galamsey practice. In our Tuesday, February 28, 2017 edition of Today we reported a story with the headline: Legalise Galamsey. The case for galamsey to be legalised was made by the Member of Parliament for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Hon. George Mireku Duker.
ACCORDING to Hon. Mireku Duker, who spoke in an exclusive interview with Today on the matter, legalising galamsey operations will create more jobs, particularly for the youth in our mining communities.
“ONE surest way to deal with the galamsey menace is to first legalise their operations, put them into groups and licence them, then we can assign people to monitor them to ensure that they conform to all the laid down rules,” the lawmaker submitted.
HE goes on to make the point that the destruction of our water bodies, farmlands and forest reserves should be attributed to the way and manner we as a country have handled galamsey. It must be said that the Tarkwa-Nsuaem MP appears to be making some cogent argument for the case to legalise galamsey.
WE believe there are many like him who also believe that legalising galamsey will inure to our benefit, especially where they would then be compelled to prospect for gold in the right way without endangering lives, and also contribute meaningfully towards the development of this country.
THAT is the more reason why Today thinks a national dialogue is urgent to holistically look at galamsey and find a permanent cure to it. And until we do that it must be stated that the ad hoc measures that we often employ to address galamsey will not yield any positive dividends.
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