The Two Days Of Dialogue On Galamsey Has Caused Financial Loss To The State.

I definitely agree with Tarzan that the recent two days seminar on galamsey was just a waste of time and public resources that borders on causing financial loss to the state for which somebody must be held accountable. The minister of lands and natural resources must be held responsible for causing financial loss to the state for organizing the two days seminar if indeed the seminar was initiated and organized by him. It was indeed a process in futility for some of the milliard of reasons that I will attempt to list below:

1. Who in Ghana does not know that galamsey is damaging our environment, including our farmlands and water bodies?
2. Who in Ghana does not know that there are big men and politicians in Ghana behind the galamsey menace; some of whom were sitting in the conference hall for the two days seminar?
3. Who in Ghana does not know that the excavators used in the galamsey do not fall from the skies but come through our seaports of Tema and Takoradi and are cleared by the payment of import duties?
4. Who in Ghana does not know that, most of the fields being destroyed are done by the same excavators that were cleared from the port of Tema and Takoradi and not by shovels and pick axes used by galamseyers?
5. Who in Ghana does not know that, the granting of license for small scale mining is tantamount to endorsing illegal mining?

Based on the forgoing enumerated points, what in the world should motivate anybody to call for a dialogue before he can understand these simple facts? Well to me, that was an admission of failure on the part of my government in the fight against illegal mining. It is equal to saying that, I no longer have what it takes to fight the galamsey menace so I need others to tell me how to proceed. We elect leaders to solve problems and if with all the numerous technocrats and the politicians we pay with our scarce resources in the various ministries, the same can turn around to tell us that they have reached the end of the road in the fight against illegal mining, then it behooves on the President to appoint men who can do the fight and bring sanity into the system.

Mr. Jinapor must know that, the fight against illegal mining is inextricably linked to the proliferation of small scale mining and so long as we continue to grant licenses for small scale mining, we shall forever have the issue of illegal mining on our hands and the resultant effect of degradation of our environment and our water bodies would continue to occur. Truth must be told, the damage we see around the country are not done by illegal miners but rather by the licensed small scale miners that we protect.

If indeed we want to fight illegal mining, we must ban the importation of excavators into the country except by underground mining companies and road contractors. Suspend all small scale mining throughout the country and I can assure you that, within a year, all our water bodies will rejuvenate. Anything short of these measures would be cosmetic and just a dance around the chair. After all, in the 1980’s and 90’s when we did not know small scale mining, were we not living and feeding our families?