Nana Yaw Osei-Darkwa, the Convener of the Green Republic Project, has proposed to the government of Ghana the establishment of technology-driven anti-galamsey control centres throughout the country to aid in the fight against illegal mining.
He is proposing the use of sophisticated drones in all forests and protected areas to provide real-time information for security agencies to act on. This he said will also eliminate human elements in the fight.
“In this critical fight, we cannot rely solely on the human element; there must be a well-resourced, decentralised approach to the fight. We must find the funds to do this as part of the defence budget because our nation’s life is in grave danger,” he said.
Commenting on the current state of ‘galamsey’ activities in the country, Osei-Darkwa described illegal mining as an act of terrorism that must be confronted with vigour.
He disagrees with the government’s approach to fighting illegal mining. For him, illegal mining should be classified as “an act of terrorism.”
“I shudder to say that these are terrorist acts because their operations endanger all Ghanaians by using poisonous chemicals in their operations in waterbodies that continue to be the primary sources of drinking water for all Ghanaians,” he said.
He urged Ghanaians to rise up because no one would be spared the dire consequences of galamsey and the dangerous threats it poses, comparing galamsey areas to ‘training grounds for rebels and terrorists who are being trained to defend their territories and source of income.’
“We’ve all seen videos going around in which gun-wielding individuals are seen shooting sporadically in broad daylight in the… in Ghana’s eastern region. Those actions, in my opinion, smack of terrorism because the lives of innocent Ghanaians who have never been close to a galamsey pit are endangered and sometimes maimed in such circumstances.”
Climate Change Effects
According to the climate change activist warned that if galamsey is not stopped immediately, Ghana could lose its enviable position as a leading producer of cocoa, a major foreign exchange earner.
While calling for a concerted effort to combat the threat, he urged the government not to spare those found guilty.
“I am calling for a broad-based national effort in which the clergy use galamsey as a preaching point because these guys go to church and the mosque as well. Our politicians must desist from irresponsible reckless and deliberate statements and actions that usually go unpunished under the guise of political speech.”
By: Mohammed Fugu/www.zamireport.com/Ghana
This report was completed as part of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development‘s 2023 Climate Change Fellowship with funding support from the Centre for Investigative Journalism’s Climate Change in News Media project.