What Are We Doing To Ourselves?

Two events in the past year caught my attention, the first one was three people were caught engaging in galamsey activities and were arraigned before court in Bekwai, two of the accused were Ghanaians and the other a Chinese national, whenever the case was called, the Ghanaians who were workers of the Chinese were brought to court while the Chinese was not, this went on until the judge hearing the case threatened to set the Ghanaians free if on the next court date the Chinese national fails to show up. The other event was that some Chinese nationals were also caught on this same galamsey issue and when they were to be brought before court the prosecutor told the court that they had died and their bodies cremated, (the court wasn’t even aware of their death and subsequent cremation). Why are we doing this to ourselves?

Errm, yesterday I read that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has secured a $227m credit from the World Bank to undertake the Ghana Tree Crop Diversification Program (TCDP), this is to help improve tree production and productivity and will help improve growth in income of those who will be a lucky part of the program. “The project aims to achieve significant outcomes, such as increased yields and value addition for target tree crops, improved climate adaptation strategies, and substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions”. Some of the trees targeted in this project are Cocoa, Coconut, Cashew and Rubber, this initiative and the $30m forest conservation money from UAE (an irony I still don’t understand) are good initiatives which needs to be effectively, efficiently and consciously rolled out and supported by all of us, but let’s ask ourselves, if we can give an honest accounts of the trees we have planted for the past 8 years, like how many of them thrived beyond the first year of planting? How many of them do we have dedicated people looking after them? Can our land support this project in the wake of galamsey destruction? Why don’t we prioritize land reclamation first? Why don’t we put a ban on galamsey? Because galamsey is at the helms of the destruction of our forest and environment.

Irrespective of the TCDP aims and projections and good intentions, I think the biggest elephant in the room is galamsey and his accomplice of our indifferent attitude (towards almost everything), and these double pivot needs to be checked, and banned, and neutralized. How can we achieve a successful TCDP if according to the Mo’s index the sustainable use of our land has dropped by 10% since 2014 and land and water protection has dropped a whopping 32.7% in the same space of time? Our cocoa production has dropped and the meagre yield we are getting are being flagged as having presence of heavy metals in them. As a country we risk losing a trade partner and an investor in the agricultural sector in the shape of Lindt and Sprungli (the chocolate producers) if we (as a nation) don’t take the necessary to end this galamsey menace by becoming active citizens and not spectators, because the company source almost all their cocoa beans from our country through their Farming Program which was launched and has been in existence since 2008. The farming program reaches and equips about 131,000 farmers and last year alone $33.8m (more than the forest conservation money from UAE) was invested to support farmers and their household in the areas of health and education, and improved cocoa production (according to their website), but the sad story is that Lindt and Sprungli is being sued in parts of the US for the presence of cadmium and lead in their chocolate and we all know where to point the accusatory fingers.

We wouldn’t have been here if not for our indifferent attitudes towards almost everything including the devastating effects of galamsey, we sit with arms and legs in akimbo saying and doing nothing about the ills going on in our country because of our political affiliations, tribal connections, or social connections, and we tend to forget that effects of galamsey knows no affiliations or connections and it attacks us at the same rate. It is sad to see the custodians of our land, people whose ancestors went to war in the past, held flames in their hands, just to protect our land keep quiet and watch on as galamseyers rape the land (they rule) with impunity, but how can I blame them much if the deities (our gods) that are being rendered refugees in their own home are quiet and not ready to wreak havoc on galamseyers?

Why are we doing this to ourselves? I ask again. Galamsey needs full commitment and attention and not band aid solutions in fighting it, it needs the efforts and voice of the ordinary citizens who will bear the full scale brunt of its effects on daily basis, it needs laws and interventions of the political leaders, it needs the guidance of the traditional leaders who are the custodians of the land ultimately it needs the wrath of the deities who are being ousted from their homes, I mean to say the fight needs all of us. If we don’t come together and work in unity against this canker, TPDP, The Forest Conservation Program and all other interventions will be a band aid slapped on the wrist of a sickly land. In the coming days I will release my manifesto on ending galamsey.

Koffi Adu Flair Demigod @ 15/11/2024
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