The paramount Chief of the SefwiChirano Traditional area, Nana OkogyeamanKwakuGyamprah III has called on all stakeholders, including traditional authorities, community leaders and religious bodies to join hands in the fight against illegal mining in the country.
The call, he said, has become necessary in view of the well-established position that the activities of illegal mining have far-reaching consequences for the incoming generation.
It comes days after government, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural resources launched a second phase of a galamsey fight in the country.
Nana Gyamprah, who is also the Vice president of the Western North Regional House of Chiefs, noted that it is a settled position of fact that the negative effect of illegal mining is eating deep into the fabric of the Ghanaian society and must be fought with full force.
Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle at Chirano in the Western North region, the traditional leader stressed the need for the government to be bold in the galamsey fight irrespective of the political personalities involved.
According to the Paramount chief, it is an open secret that the devastative effect of the illegal mining activities in the country is what has necessitated the intervention of the government leading to the establishment of the ‘Anti-galamsey Task Force’ with the aim of combating this social canker.
Notwithstanding the role being played by government to curb the activities of illegal mining, chiefs and traditional leaders who are the custodians of the land must stand firm in support of the struggle to rid the country of galamsey activities, Nana Gyamprah said and emphasised that galamsey activities often result not only in pollution of water and river bodies but also causes the destruction of forest reserves and depletion of farm lands.
This, according to him, continues to pose a serious threat to mankind.
The traditional leader said the penchant disregard for human lives by the use of harmful and dangerous chemicals by galamsey operators is a source of worry to all Ghanaians and as such poses a challenge to all chiefs to answer the pregnant question as to who exactly releases these lands to the galamsey operators.
He maintained that the long term health implications for the greater number of community members who rely on rivers and other water bodies as their source of drinking water and domestic purposes should be a turning point for all stakeholders in the country to get involved in the galamsey fight
He noted that it is sad that the nation’s rivers which used to be nation’s source of pride and good and reliable sources of drinking water are now in miserable state.
To this end, Nana Okogyeaman wondered why in their search for gold mineral, the perpetuators of this crime continue to blatantly down play the cause and effect of their activities on the future generation.
Explaining the need for concerted efforts against the galamsey fight, the Chirano chief said it is needless to mention that the geographical area of all stools and several other dwellers of rural nature are major victims of these social vices which are the product of illegal mining activities, noting that it is against this background that as traditional leaders clothed with the duties and responsibilities of working towards the promotion of the total wellbeing of their subjects cannot continue to keep mute whiles the nation suffers the debilitating effect of illegal mining activities.
He said it is therefore appropriate if not demanding to renew the call of his traditional jurisdiction for all stakeholders to stand up against the ‘devil’ called illegal mining or galamsey.
As a traditional leader, Okogyeaman Gyamprah reiterated his request for the commitment of all chiefs and traditional leaders in the Western North region to rise up and join the campaign against illegal mining activities, stressing that ‘a call with united voice and a fight with united spirit by all stakeholders is one of the surest and most effective tools needed to win the war against illegal mining’.
The paramount Chief also renewed a call for vigilance among all traditional and community leaders so as to help the country identify and weed off all recalcitrant illegal mining operators from their communities, farmlands and forest reserves.
The challenge, he emphasised, ought to be taken up by all community leaders without question, adding that time has come for chiefs to take the fight against galamsey to a higher level not because chiefs take delight in collective action but because the bi-product of illegal mining is painting a bleak future for the country’s generation yet unborn.
He reminded all chiefs and traditional leaders not to forget that their accountability to the people also includes the need to protect the environment and water bodies, not forgetting their additional responsibility to stimulate growth by preserving healthy environment for both young men and women who want do farming to safely do so in dignity and pride.
The chief maintained that every unregulated mining environment can be the breeding grounds for galamsey operations and that explains the reason for which the government has introduced community mining.
Notwithstanding the call for a collective effort to fight the galamseymenance, Nana Okogyeaman also challenged the government to take a step further to re-examine the country’s mining laws and ensure that stiffer sanctions are meted out to offenders whose activities are in total violation of the law of mining.
From CK Clement, Chirano
The post Paramount chiefs calls for concerted efforts to fight galamsey appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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