Galamsey Politics

"Our national anthem urges us to boldly defend this country forever. And that we will do!"

Political debate in Ghana has never been more exciting, with the elections only a couple of months away.

And now the talk of town is all about galamsey, let's call it galamsey politics.

Dr. Bawumia and the NPP's position on the matter is rather ludicrous to the point of laughability. It is safe to say that any government that fails to act swiftly against the devastation of our countryside as a result of galamsey is enemy of our nationhood.

We now know, that the President's promise to deal ruthlessly with the galamseyers, even if that would cost him his presidency was a hoax.

The NPP and Nana Addo has presided over the wanton destruction of our forests, rivers, cocoa farms and farmlands, mountains and hills, roads etc in a scale unprecedented in our history.

Yet, the government wouldn't declare a state of emergency nor impose a ban on the obnoxious practice for eccentric political reasons.

The danger of losing votes in galamsey communities, and the lack of political will to stop galamseyers close to government from profiting from the practice means the president can only look on helplessly as illegal miners wipe away the soul of our nation.

Clearly, the NPP is misreading the mood of Ghanaians in not acting forcefully to stop the menace. But that's the nature of political power. Sometimes, political power is unwise, unreasonable, untenable, and must be challenged for sanity to rule.

And the NDC, for sure, is turbo-charged by the government's failure to fight against the menace. John Mahama and the NDC are saying the right things, hitting the right notes, striking the right cords, even if fridgidly.

But galamsey did not start under Akufo Addo. Mahama and the NDC had their turn to proscribe it, but they failed to do so.

The pollution of the countryside is the result of aggravated accumulation of years of latent government inaction and collusion with galamsey kingpins.

And now, this country faces an existential threat as our forests, water bodies, graves, houses, markets, religious sites are in danger of becoming centres of intense galamsey activity.

Akufo-Addo may be a lame duck, but Ghanaians must mount more pressure on him and his government to act decisively and pragmatically in the national interest.

The writing is on the wall, Mr. President! It is never late to do the right thing. We will not be spectators of the decimation of our natural habitat. Our national anthem urges us to boldly defend this country forever. And that we will do!