Of course those engaged in the destruction of our flora and fauna directly and indirectly are criminals who should be regarded and treated as such.
Those recklessly digging and thereby destroying our bodies of water and forests for gold nuggets are doing just that as they wear their unpatriotic tag of galamsey. The remarks of the traditional ruler, when he said those engaged in galamsey are criminals as contained in one of the stories in this edition is just apt and we associate ourselves with it.
The Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area in the Western Region Nana Kobina Nketsia IV could not have put it better than this.
When traditional authorities, custodians of our heritage, forests et al begin to flex their muscles like the Essikado traditional ruler has done, then we can heave sighs of relief that at last we can count on the support of this critical segment of the country in the war against galamsey.
Following the recent discourse by relevant personalities including chiefs on the menace of galamsey in the country such remarks and resolutions must be what Ghanaians should be looking out for; they bolster the war against the criminals.
The fallouts from galamsey can be equated to the actions of murderers. After all when our forest cover is depleted and the convectional rains the impetus for which is traceable to the trees in the rainforest belt, this would definitely affect food and cash crop production.
As for our rivers they have endured so much already from galamsey that repeating these fallouts here would be irritating.
Let all stand up and be counted among supporters of the crusade against galamsey. When the last tree dies death for humanity becomes imminent.
Silence over the destruction of our forests some of them endowed with yet to be discovered natural resources by selfish individuals and their foreign collaborators portends danger for not the living but generations yet unborn.
Posterity will not forgive us if we shirk our responsibilities to the environment, something some of us have done in the name of partisan politics.
This is the time to deal ruthlessly with the galamsey menace lest we find ourselves in an irreversible situation.
We cannot afford a situation where some species of our wildlife are lost forever because some of us could not care a hoot about protecting their habitats.
We want to hear many other traditional rulers add their voices to that of Nana Kobina Nketia IV so that the necessary pitch needed to add to the anti-galamsey arsenal is assured.
There is no going backward in this crusade. Until we begin to see galamsey actors as criminals and therefore treating them as such we would not achieve the goal of protecting our water bodies and forests against their wicked, greedy and uncaring occupation which serves them only and nobody else.
When all the traditional rulers start clamping down upon the criminals with their tongues and might we can begin imagining a Ghana with her forests and rivers protected against crude and rude exploitation.