President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on traditional rulers and all stakeholders to collaborate in the fight against illegal mining, known as galamsey.
The President said it was obvious that “if we are to win the fight, you and I have to take the lead to collaborate closely to do so. That is why I am here today.”
Addressing the National House of Chiefs on Wednesday, the President said about 80 per cent of the lands in Ghana were under the custody of Chiefs, whereas the remaining 20 per cent was held in trust by the state.
What that meant, according to President was that the State and the Chiefs were jointly responsible for the welfare of the lands, although, statutory, the minerals in the soil belonged to the State.
He said historically, both the Chiefs and the State had discharged that responsibility well, adding: “even though, for centuries, mining had been carried out across the country, it did not pose a threat to the health of our environment and water bodies.
“The rules that you put in place for mining ensured that the sanctity of our lands remained intact and our water bodies remained unpolluted,” he stated.
But tragically, President Akufo-Addo said that was not the case in this current dispensation, adding: “that is why I have come to you today to talk about how, together, we can repair this dramatic situation.”
Since 2017, the President said he had made it a central feature of his presidency to lead in the efforts to rid the country of the menace of galamsey, with a firm commitment.
“It has not been easy, it has not been popular,” he stated, adding: “We have not got the immediate results that I was looking for. In the last elections of 2020, my stance on the issue cost my party and I, significant losses in the mining communities.”
According to the President, it turned out that the statement that he was putting his presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey “was neither bombast nor recklessness. It was a simple truth.”
“We have tried many initiatives, including that of the Community Mining Scheme, and the establishment of a new legal regime for dealing with the perpetrators of this phenomenon, which has imposed severe sanctions on those, Ghanaians and foreigners, convicted of illegal mining. Still, we have not won the fight.”
President Akufo-Addo said taking partisan interests out of the fight against galamsey was the surest way to deal with the menace.
“It can only succeed if it is a truly national battle, which no one seeks to exploit for political gain, as we saw in the last election,” the President stated, adding that “the progress of the country depended on all citizens of Ghana, pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future.”
“We are not against mining but we cannot accept mining in a manner that risks destroying our country. Our nation has always been a mining country.”
President Akufo-Addo implored Ghanaians to join hands with him in the fight against illegal mining, to bring an end to the degradation and devastation of the country’s landscape, and the pollution of the water bodies.
“We have to win that fight to keep our environment clean and protect our heritage for our descendants, as you did in the past,” he added.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
