I want to begin with a comment from Dr Randy Abbey about unlawful mining in Ghana: ‘Even Lucifer might be shocked on the degree of greed in Ghana’. It’s a merciless irony that the soil that ought to nourish and maintain us has grow to be a battleground, ravaged by the harmful forces of illicit mining, typically generally known as “galamsey.”
This environmental catastrophe has reached a breaking level, and President Nana Akufo-Addo and the ruling New Patriotic Get together (NPP) should take full duty.
Regardless of Akufo-Addo’s daring assertion that he would “put his presidency on the road” to fight the galamsey epidemic, his administration has fully did not ship on this pledge. The horrible actuality is that underneath his management, the devastation of Ghana’s water our bodies and forests has actually worsened, with disastrous results on the well being and livelihoods of thousands and thousands. Erastus Asare Donkor, an environmental journalist, is campaigning for analysis on the impacts of galamsey on girls’s well being, specifically maternal well being and delivery deformities, on account of mercury use in illicit small-scale mining.
The latest declaration by the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh Dompreh, that the opposition Nationwide Democratic Congress (NDC) “polluted the water greater than us” is a pitiful try and switch blame. That is nothing greater than a determined try and shift blame away from the NPP’s depressing failure to unravel the issue adequately. A ruling social gathering that collects our taxes and has full management over all establishments.
The reality is that the present administration has contributed to the unfold of illicit mining actions, with credible allegations that a number of political and conventional leaders are instantly or not directly implicated in these damaging practices.
The Fourth Property’s investigation uncovers that politicians and people with authorities ties are making use of for mining licenses in Ghana’s forest reserves, elevating issues about environmental injury and an absence of transparency. Samuel Pyne and Chairman Wontumi are two notable figures affiliated with the present Akuffo Addo regime. The Minerals Fee argues politicians have the proper to use, however environmental campaigners argue this goes in opposition to the federal government’s dedication to environmental sustainability.
The obvious lack of regulation enforcement by the very authorities answerable for defending our surroundings solely strengthens these accusations. The President’s dedication to “put his presidency on the road” has confirmed to be empty phrases, as he has steadfastly clung to energy regardless of his administration’s disastrous incapacity to manage the galamsey pandemic. It demonstrates his conceitedness and contempt for the welfare of the Ghanaian folks.
The Well being Sector Unions and Skilled Associations have appropriately raised the alarm, underlining the intense hazards to public well being and Ghana’s ecosystem posed by unrestrained destruction of forests and water our bodies. Their suggestion for a complete ban on small-scale mining operations, mixed with elevated regulatory enforcement, is a wise and vital step towards resolving the state of affairs.
Nonetheless, the Akufo-Addo authorities has ignored these calls, placing the pursuits of the highly effective and well-connected forward of the well-being of the bulk. This horrible show of favoritism and corruption has additional escalated the galamsey downside, with our villages bearing the brunt of the environmental disaster.
This management actually is a power-hungry administration that has damaged the folks’s confidence. Nana Ohene Ntow, a former NPP Normal Secretary, has overtly acknowledged the social gathering’s contempt for the desire of the folks, claiming that in the event that they win the 2024 election, they’ll “by no means respect Ghanaians.” It’s time for a reckoning. The Akufo-Addo administration has demonstrated its incapacity to deal with the galamsey state of affairs, and its ongoing maintain on energy poses a severe risk to the very cloth of our nation. Ghanaians should demand accountability, reject the NPP’s phony guarantees, and search leaders that worth environmental conservation and neighborhood well-being.
Ghana’s future is on the road, and we can not afford to be fooled by the NPP’s misleading rhetoric and self-serving ambitions. To begin over and get issues proper, the present management should be faraway from energy. Ghana is dealing with unprecedented greed, leading to agony and wreck. One thing must be completed now. We’re all in danger, no matter our proximity to the mining websites. You and I’m going to the market to purchase our foodstuffs, which can come from these areas.
Let’s take into consideration this. In the intervening time, our nation’s survival is determined by prohibiting this small-scale exercise instructed by the well being organizations.