The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on President John Dramani Mahama to declare a state of emergency in areas devastated by illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, citing severe environmental degradation and threats to human life.
The President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, said recent data shows that over 4,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed in the past two years.
He says Rivers like the Pra, Offin, and Ankobra have also become symbols of environmental disaster.
He said the bishops want the president to declare a limited state of emergency in all the affected areas and to temporarily suspend all mining activities.
“We believe there should be targeted state of emergency, declare, your excellency a limited state of emergency in all the affected zones to suspend all mining activities temporary, deploy military engineering unit for reclamation”
“Data, as we are all aware, indicates that over 4, 000 hectares of forest cover have been lost in just the past two years. While rivers like Pra, offin, and Ankobra have become bywords for environmental collapse”
He said the ecological damage is greave which he believes government must act now
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama says his government is actively fighting illegal mining.
According to him, the issue is complex. Many young people, especially those without skills, turn to illegal mining as an easy way to earn a living due to limited job opportunities.
He added that small-scale mining is not illegal in Ghana, but problems started when foreigners brought in heavy equipment that can destroy large areas of land quickly.
“We are engaged in the fight, it’s a very complex fight, unfortunately because of the lack of economic opportunity, a lot of our young people who are unskilled have found illegal small scale mining as an easy avenue to gain employment and be able to make an income.
“So as I speak it is estimated that anything between 1.5 million and above of our people are involved in that sector either in artisanal or in working for small scale mining companies or doing what they call Galamsey”
He assured Ghanaians that his government is working hard to stop illegal mining.
President Mahama has further indicated that the government is making steady progress in restoring all forests devastated by illegal mining activities.
“Currently, the statistics we have is that 16% of our forest reserves have been destroyed and encroached upon. It will need both reclamation and rehabilitation of the forest.”
“We are intending to do that under the carbon credit system because if you reclaim mined lands and you restore forest, you can claim it under carbon credit. That will give us more money to reclaim some more of the forest,” he said
