Urgent Need for Mining Sector reforms-Our Common enemy is Irresponsible Mining and Not Galamasey, So let us be clear, coherent and cohesive -Part One

Stop or ban Galamasey has become the topical national issue day in, day out due to issues of the massive destruction of the environment especially the pollution of water bodies/rivers and destruction of forest cover caused by Smell Scale Surface Mining since 1999.

The destruction of the environment became very alarming after 2012 due to irresponsible mining with sophisticated technology and substantial expenditure by some Ghanaian tycoons and their foreign business partners especially Chinese national. The Foreigners are operating in the Small Scale Sector in the name of Support Services as motivated by a bad law namely the Minerals and Mining Support Services Regulations 2012 (LI2174) which occasioned the Chinese to come to Ghana with thousands of Excavators and Chafang Machines to give service support to Licensed Small Scale Miners.

Due to the public outcry against Galamasey, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has been motivated to jump on the wagon with an attempt to conduct an investigation into likely acts of suspected corruption or corrupt related offences regarding illegal mining. Thus the national confusion with terms like illegal mining and Galamasey as occasioned by public failure to identify the real problem coined herein as the enemy within the mining sector which poses an existential threat has wakened the Office of the Special Prosecutor to attempt in a wasteful fishing expedition.

If the OSP really meant to investigate corruption linked to Galamasey activities that is an indigenous activity which means Gather and Sell, then he is on the wrong path. He should rather investigate Small Scale Mining just like what the Auditor General did in 2020. He should Google for the Auditor General’s Report on Small Scale Mining and he will see that all the Licensed Small Scale Miners or Companies committed illegal mining since 1999 due to the negligence of the EPA and Minerals Commission, hence the likelihood of corruption in the activities of licensed Small Scale Mining is very high.

So let me warn my fellow Compatriots that though Galamasey is a global problem in the mining sector, hence of interest to the global/ National Chamber of Mines ( Large Scale Mining Companies), likewise the World Bank Group, USAID and others, it is not the real enemy that the citizens of Ghana and the people globally to battle with.

We need to identify the real enemy or the Major Enemy which is posing threat to National Security and to some extent global Security, so that we apply the Principles of War especially the First Principle of War that is Selection and Maintenance of Aim to conquer the enemy. We need to go by the philosophy of one of the greatest War Generals by name Sun Tzu which he stated as follows; ,’’ if you know the enemy and you know yourself in hundred battles you will never peril, when you are ignorant of the enemy but you know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant of both of the enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.

Critical thinking or risk Assessment or battle appreciation on Galamasey will make us appreciate that though Galamasey or Artisanal Small Scale Mining is a threat to the Economy of Ghana as a whole and the interests of Large Scale Mining Companies including Electrochem of the McDan Group, Galamasey has come to stay. We only need to think outside the box for win-win solutions for coexistence otherwise we have lost the battle, since the real enemy in the Mining Sector is IRRESPONSIBLE MINING in general that poses a threat to national security and existential threat and not Galamasey per se.

Once again, let me remind my fellow Ghanaians that Artisanal Mining was the culture of our forefathers since the Stone Age era and it was coined as Galamasey in local parlance with the arrival of the English Colonial Masters.

Galamasey which simply stands for gather and sell is the local name for indigenous or traditional or native way of live in mining etc. Note that in Ghana we have Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (Galamasey) in Salt mining as done in Ada Songhor legalized by PNDC Law 287 of 1989 and Artisanal Gold Mining (Galamasey )in the Western Region and other Regions of Ghana for livelihood legalized by Small Scale Gold Mining Law 1989 (PNDC Law 18) . The PNDC in 1989 also legalized Banker to Banker lotto with PNDC District Lotto Law 1989 (PNDC law 233). All these legalization of Small Scale Projects were meant to reduce poverty and generate employment and rural development and this is ingrained in the rural areas.

Thus the people at Ada Songhor area are doing Galamasey or gather and sell Salt minerals (Industrial mineral) and their counterparts in Tarkwa or Prestea or Bogoso or Obuasi are doing Galamasey in Gold mineral that is gather and sell gold livelihood. We need to come out with good measures to contain them within boundaries and Community Small Scale Mining through the issuance of Community Permits is the answer to ensure shared Responsibility.

So we should restrict our battle against irresponsible mining and not Galamasey or illegal mining, because Galamasey is a major Social, Economic, Political, Military, Religious and Psychological problem which emanated from the Stone Age era, hence it is the culture of some communities. Hence, a win -win solution for coexistence is required.

So let us be educated by the adage that ‘Prestea is Galamasey and Galamasey is Prestea as propounded in 2004 by the then Vice President of Ghana namely His Excellency Alhaji Aliu Mahama. This adage per national election results at Prestea as example since 2004 revealed that it was true then, it is true today and it will be true till the end of the World. This philosophy was passed to Dr Dan Mckorley, the President /Group Chairman of the McDan Group that Ada Songhor is Galamasey in Salt Mining and Galamasey in Salt Mining is Ada Songhor, so he needs to find a win-win solutions for coexistence before he can obtain social license for the operations of Electrochem Large Scale Mining.

The time-honored Galamasey or indigenous activity is a different matter which is beyond political undertones. It needs holistic approach through a combination of full range of measures Socially, Economically , Politically, Militarily, Religiously and Psychologically, Academically, Legally and Judiciary at the same time with the support of the World Bank to contain or manage this risk.

The OSP and others must appreciate that Ghana has both criminal offences laws and mining offences laws to combat crime and mining offences. So if any illegal activity poses serious National Security Threat, then the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police both as creatures of the 1992 Constitution do not need the permission of anyone or declaration State of Emergency to defend and protect this Nation against existential threat.

The Security Agencies only need to be told not to allow mining in Water bodies and the Forests areas, so if they find anyone there they are to shoot to kill because their operations is provided or covered at Article 13 of the Constitution that is to take swift and brutal actions against bad nuts who have refused or failed to obey national warning of no go areas or don’ts.