Galamsey fight: Let’s act now!!..Mr. Kwadwo Atta Apeakorang

Galamsey fight: Let’s act now!!..Mr. Kwadwo Atta Apeakorang

Some of the associations have also stressed the need for the government to, as a matter of urgency, ban all forms of small-scale mining to help sanitise the sector to protect the environment.

The hard truth is that the country is at a crossroads in the search for pragmatic solutions to the escalating illegal mining menace.

According to Save the nation for future leaders, Mr. Kwadwo Atta Apeakorang, said, More than seven years after the government declared war against illegal mining, the country is yet to come out of the woods, as illegal miners continue to wreak havoc on land and water resources.

He said, the illegal miners are having a field day, leading to the wanton destruction of the country’s land and water resources.

He said, the swathes of agricultural lands have been reduced to gullies while several hectares of forest reserves that have been designated as red zones have been pillaged with impunity.

Worse still, the activities of the illegal miners have destroyed the sanctity of major rivers such as the Pra, Ankobra, Offin, Densu, Birim and Black Volta. These rivers have been heavily polluted with mercury, cyanide and other metals such that their turbidity levels keep worsening by the day.

Save the nation for future leaders, Mr. Kwadwo Atta Apeakorang has raised red flags about the negative impact of galamsey on its treatment plants and warned that the country risked water scarcity if nothing was done to address the menace.

Mr. Kwadwo Atta Apeakorang made a distress call for urgent steps to be taken to halt galamsey activities in the Pra River to prevent an imminent water crisis in the region.

We cannot imagine getting to the point where water will be imported into this country simply because some selfish individuals have destroyed that natural resource in the desperate search for gold.

We acknowledge that gold mining contributes significantly to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). However, if we must mine, we must do so responsibly and sustainably. Posterity will not forgive us all if we watch on for the country’s resources to be destroyed.