Prince William Ankrah, General Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers Union
Prince William Ankrah, General Secretary of the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU), has urged government to sustain the current fight against illegal mining also known as ‘galamsey.’
According to him, the fight against the menace, when sustained, would bring positive outcome and further stop the destruction of the country’s water bodies and forests.
Mr. Ankrah, who was speaking in a recent interview with journalists during the Workers’ Day reception in Accra, urged President Akufo-Addo and his ministers and MMDCEs not to succumb to any external influence to stop the ‘galamsey’ fight.
He said government’s bold resolve against the menace would serve the national interest and their names would be written in gold in the history of the nation as people who stood up to end illegal mining.
“This is a sovereign nation and we don’t need anybody to call a bluff. Diplomacy in such cases is welcome but we must be very blunt with them that we cannot tolerate activities from any foreign national which threaten our survival as a people.
“Our nation’s laws must work. You can’t go and do that in any foreign country, destroying their water bodies and forest cover anyhow. So beyond the diplomacy, excuse me, I think that we have to be very tough on them.”
Mr. Ankrah pointed out that the union has for the past 20 years raised alarm about the negative effects of illegal mining and called on the nation to take bold steps to curb the menace, but unfortunately that did not attract the necessary backing to nip it in the bud.
He therefore commended government for taking bold steps to fight the ‘galamsey’ menace to keep water bodies clean and maintain the forests.
By Cephas Larbi
cephrok@yahoo.com