Pity Ghana, caught between the agrochem errors and the gala cancer

The expression ‘between a rock and a hard place’ is used to sum up an extraordinary dilemma, an impossible choice. But it appears that given the grip of the illegal mining menace on Ghana, even that expression loses its meaning, because it doesn’t describe the situation adequately.

Some term it Ecocide, “the destruction of the natural environment by deliberate or negligent human action”.

As has been announced, President John Mahama has invited civil society groups to a meeting on Friday, October 3, billed as an “Engagement on illegal mining”– popularly known as galamsey. (Galamsey, ‘gala’, is reportedly a corruption of the phrase, ‘gather them and sell’ – a clear indication of the intent.)

But it’s unfortunate that the name of senior media colleague Cameron Duodu is not on the published list of invitees. Few in the media can match Mr Duodu’s sustained and comprehensive dedication to the anti-galamsey activism.

Of course, to be fair, the Mahama administration being just nine months in office, it’s too early to expect great policy successes. However, their galamsey stance in opposition had led to great expectations of them, doubtless the reason for the current renewal of spirited agitations for immediate tackling of the galamsey crisis.

Current media reports and pictures show an alarming increase in the pollution of the river bodies; and even more cocoa farms being destroyed to make way for expanded gala exploration.

Truly, it doesn’t bear thinking that most of Ghana’s river bodies, once pristine and appealing, now have taken on the colour of groundnut soup, or dark cocoa beverage, because of mud and the poisonous chemicals used in the water by the illegal miners in their frantic search for gold.

And it’s even more devastating that fellow Ghanaians in the affected communities have to drink that because that is their only water source.

With such a deluge of chemicals poisoning the rivers by recalcitrant illegal miners, is it any wonder that, reportedly, children are being born with horror-film deformities? And evidently, it is such distressing impacts that prompt calls in some quarters for even the death sentence, for the perpetrators.

Surely, it can only be viewed as the height of disloyalty and selfishness for any Ghanaian to be aiding foreigners who are illegally mining gold, notably the Chinese, assisting them to poison river bodies and people!

An earlier health threat some of us have long been concerned about is that posed by apparent errors in the use of chemicals in food crops farming, by famers with little or no classroom schooling; or who out of ignorance, refuse to go by manufacturers’ application guidelines.

As far back as 2016, I highlighted this concern in an article titled “The poison we eat: Who should take action?”

But in the present situation, it appears that even when we can identify seemingly safe yam and other foodstuffs, free from misapplied agrochemicals, there is no guarantee that the soil in which the crop was grown had no illegal mining poisons!

However, clearly at present now that agrochemicals misapplication danger has been overtaken by the illegal mining our country is in even more danger.

The outlook is terrifying! We virtually eat every mouthful with trepidation, not knowing whether the threat to our health is from agrochemicals or from galamsey – or, in some places, both.

During the administration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government under President Nana Akuffo-Addo, there were numerous calls from many quarters for the Government to declare a State of Emergency (SoE) to effectively deal with the galamsey menace.

Notably, strident calls came from bodies such as the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey; the Trades Union Congress; the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG); religious groups; the Ghana Journalists Association; and some leaders of the then main opposition party the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Particularly ahead of the 2024 general election, which the NDC won overwhelmingly, some NDC leaders who made caustic pronouncements about the pressing need for President Akufo-Addo to declare a SoE immediately, included: Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (now Foreign Minister); Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah (now Minister for Lands and Natural Resources); and Mr Haruna Iddrisu (now Education Minister).

Also, the then National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi took the pressure a step further: “he called on Ghanaians to declare a State of Emergency on the NPP for destroying the water bodies in the country,” (GhanaWeb, September 12, 2024).

Mr Gyamfi indicated scornfully that the NDC would roll out a comprehensive action plan to solve galamsey crisis at the soonest if voted into office.

Yet, paradoxically, during the Election 2024 campaign period, as videos testify, at the same time, other NDC ‘top guns’ were assuring the illegal miners at gala sites that if they voted for the NDC to win, they would be allowed to continue their work.

Indeed, the then Presidential candidate Mr Mahama himself memorably gave assurance at a rally at Adum-Banso (Western Region) that those arrested and prosecuted for galamsey would be granted amnesty if the operators voted for the NDC to win.

Ahead of Election 2024, such was the general alarm about the state of some of Ghana’s prominent, essential water bodies, fuelled by graphic images of bottled ‘gala water’ shown on some TV stations, that the calls intensified for President Akufo-Addo to declare a SoE, but it didn’t happen.

Again, noticeably, since the assumption of power by the NDC in January, 2025, environmental activists and other observers have assessed that the river bodies are in an even more frightening state. Evidently, the gala group feel they have immunity. Thus, the ongoing renewed pressure for a SoE, at least in the districts worst affected by galamsey.

Thus, it was evidently a shock for many people when on September 10, at a media engagement at Jubilee House, President Mahama stated his reluctance to declare a SoE, insisting that it should be a last resort; that alternative measures would be tried first.

Nevertheless, in disagreement, on September 15, 2025, the Catholics Bishops Conference issued a compelling statement asking the President to “declare a SoE in areas ravaged by illegal mining and the poisoning of water bodies and the destruction of forest reserves.” Signed by its President, the Most Rev Mathew Kwasi Gyamfi, the statement described galamsey as “a cancer on the national soul”.

Similarly, on September 28, the Christian Council of Ghana, too, issued a statement, signed by Rev Dr Cyril Fayose, the Council’s General Secretary, imploring the Mahama Government to deal effectively with the menace, but stressing that “the fight against galamsey is not the sole responsibility of government. It demands the collective will, commitment, and action of the entire nation.”.

A SoE, as a reference source explains “is a formal government declaration enabling broader powers to manage a crisis, such as a natural disaster, civil unrest, or armed conflict.”

One such demand for a SoE was a powerful statement issue on September 22, 2025, by academic Dr Ekpor Anyimah-Ackah. The following are excerpts from his statement:

“Everywhere we look, the evidence is irrefutable: mercury-blackened rivers, vast swaths of scarred earth where lush forests and fertile farms once stood, and poisoned water tables feeding sickness into communities.

“Illegal small-scale mining – galamsey – has evolved from a local nuisance into a national emergency. As a lecturer and food-nutrition scientist, and on behalf of the UTAG academic community, I say with absolute conviction that we must use every tool our Constitution provides to stop this destruction immediately.

“A declaration of emergency in the hardest-hit mining hotspots is not an option to debate – it is an imperative we can no longer postpone.

“Entire watersheds like the Pra, Birim, and Offin are contaminated by toxic waste, making clean water nearly impossible to find.

“Ghanaian researchers have documented tens of thousands of hectares of forest and farmland lost to illegal mining in recent years, often within sensitive reserves.

“Mercury and cyanide – poisons of gold extraction – now seep through soil and waterways, leading to fish kills, livestock deaths, and rising disease.”

“Our 1992 Constitution foresaw times like this. Under Article 31, when “the life of the nation is under threat” from any calamity, the President can declare a state of emergency. What could threaten our national life more than the deliberate poisoning of our water and soil and the collapse of our food base?

“Some critics fear that a state of emergency might suspend human rights. I respect the intent behind those concerns, but let us be clear: it is not the emergency declaration that endangers rights – it is doing nothing,” Dr Anyimah-Ackah emphasised. (He is a lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba.)

In recent days, the media space has been flooded with horrifying reports about food crops rendered unsafe by galamsey, as well as the pinpointing of some of the most affected areas, such as the Konongo (Ashanti Akim) area.

There have been warnings too, from the Institute for Environmental and Sanitation Studies, that “cassava, kontomire, plantain, garden eggs and pepper harvested from Atiwa West, in the Eastern Region, contain high concentration of lead, which is harmful to human health.”

In some communities, the water pollution is so uncontrollable, that the Ghana Water Company has suspended its work there, because their equipment can’t deal with the contamination.

It seems that there is no aspect of national life that the gala cancer has spared. This week, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana warned that “galamsey activities are contaminating water bodies and plants that give us critical raw materials for local drug manufacturing, putting the industry at risk,” said Dr Samuel Kow Donkor, the President of the society (quoted by the Daily Gist newspaper of September 29).

Furthermore, conceivably, while some brazen individuals, and foreigners, may be profiting from galamsey, there could be other, severe economic losses for the country, in other ways.

Even the tourism revenue that Ghana has been counting on could also be affected. Which tourist would choose to visit a country where the water, food and even the air are unsafe?

Presumably, one of the President Mahama’s alternative measures announced earlier this week was the announcement in Sunyani last Friday by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, that “the government has declared all water bodies and forest reserves as security zones in the latest measure to root out illegal mining in the country.”

"All water bodies and forest reserves have now been declared as security zones by President Mahama," Mr. Kofi-Buah said (Graphic online, September 29, 2025).

Even so, it’s no secret that the bane of this country is that although there are laws regulating practically every endeavour, enforcement has not always been reliable. One prays that this time there will be strict enforcement of the regulations announced in Sunyani.

I would also suggest, as I wrote some time ago, that the affected communities, too, should be encouraged and assisted to join the galamsey fight. I believe that their understanding of their role and cooperation is essential for success against the environmental criminals.

Rich or poor, we are all at risk, because even those who can afford to import water to drink, cook and bathe, will be depending on some locally grown farm produce.

Although unemployment is cited as a factor in the galamsey gold rush, it can’t be an excuse to allow illegality to continue and destroy the country’s water bodies and soil. Criminals are not spared by the courts simply because they plead unemployment.

Illegal/artisanal mining has been going on in Ghana for ages, but without the threats to the nation’s welfare and survival now being experienced. The advent of sophisticated mining equipment in galamsey is blamed for the crisis, so this is one issue that is likely to be raised at the Friday meeting at Jubilee House.

Without doubt, Ghana’s very survival is at stake as never before! The nightmare scenario of Ghanaians soon having to import drinking water must remain a far-fetched joke.

Anyhow, one hopes that by the end of the President’s meeting with the invited civil society organisations, some pragmatic, comprehensive seeds would have been planted to ensure everlasting, tough remedial actions against the cancer.

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