“This is my country and these are my laws. Anyone who cannot abide by the laws must leave the country”- Paul Kruger
TWO WEEKS ago, I told you in my conclusion that I will be back as far as the issue of the fight against galamsey is concerned so, I am back. Winning battles precedes the winning of a war. That is to say one must fight battles, sometimes lose and sometimes win along the way before winning the war. A good General braces himself up to face defeat. In defeat, he picks up the pieces and fights on. Losing a battle doesn’t mean you have lost the war. In this war against galamsey, the first battle is to win the conscience of the people, especially, those living along our forests and river bodies. That has been won by the President, the General in this war.
We need to continuously drum into the ears of everybody that our fight is to save lives, including theirs. We need to educate them on the dangers in the use of chemicals like cyanide and mercury in the washing of gold. Mobile cinema vans must be deployed to all these galamsey operation areas to show them the risk of contracting the diseases that will befall them if the water they use is not salvaged. They are also human beings and they will see the danger and change their minds. We have to assure them that we are not against mining but we are against irresponsible mining which destroys the environment and our river bodies. We have to prove to them that our ancestors engaged in mining even before we had our independence but they mined responsibly. Documentaries of safe mining must be showed to them. And documentaries of the effect of illegal mining to their health should be showed to them as well. If Kwaku Boahen, the NDC Deputy Communications Director, and his team of criminal-minded NDC gurus could convince galamseyers to mine irresponsibly, I see no reason why the government can’t set records straight as far as effect of galamsey is concerned. I believe the Information Services Department and the NCCE can easily do this job if they are well resourced.
The truth is that galamsey will not end suddenly. It will take time because in any situation, it is easy to destroy than to build. Galamsey started many years ago and will not end right now as we anticipate. It is like an inveterate disease which can only be healed with time, biter and hash remedies. The questions are: At what cost? How many people will have to die through diseases and drowning in galamsey pits before the canker ends? How many more families will suffer along that way? Should we continue to use blame game as a panacea to fight the canker? What will Ghana look like when galamsey finally ends? My recent articles on this issue of galamsey suggested the use of our river gods and goddesses to curse those who engage in the menace and the role our religious bodies should play to curb the canker. The Akans say too much meat doesn’t spoil the soup. That is why I have another suggestion for you today.
Apart from the land on which my house is situated, I do not own any land and I believe greater majority of Ghanaians too don’t own any land. It is only the chiefs who own lands in trust for their subjects. If even families own lands, such lands are situated within the jurisdictions of the chiefs. So it stands to reason that the chiefs have power, authority and control over the lands. Gold is not dug in the firmament. They are dug in the lands which are situated in the jurisdictions of one chief or the other.
The President did not wake up one morning and decided to meet the National House of Chiefs to plead to their consciences on the issue of galamsey. He has his ears on the ground so he might have been briefed about the involvement of some chiefs in the galamsey business. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II complimented the efforts of the President when he met them and bluntly told them in their drawn faces that they cannot deny that they do not know anything about galamsey operations in their respective domains. The rivers that are being polluted flow through communities in traditional areas in Ghana and the forest too, are located in their areas so no man from Jupiter can tell me that chiefs of these areas do not know about the operations of galamsey in these towns and villages under in their jurisdictions. Some of us fall short of mentioning their names because of the respect we have for our chiefs but when push comes to shove, we will name and shame them.
As for the MMDCEs, those of them who are engaged in one way or the other like the Bosome Freho DCE, should say their prayers. One has fallen and the rest will follow. The problem we have in Ghana is that we are always quick to accuse people but we shy away from proving the accusation. Had it not been the leaked tape, the President would not have known that Mr. Danso was deeply involved in galamsey. From today onwards, people who have ample evidence against any MMDCE or government official should come out now so that the President can crack the whip like the way he has done to the Bosome Freho DCE. We are tired of the “they say, they say.”
BY Eric Bawah