Complicity Hampering Fight Against Galamsey -Ken Ashigbey

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and a former director of the Graphic Communications Group, Mr. Kenneth Ashigbey has attributed the hampering of efforts at curbing the menace to the involvement of some Ghanaians in the illegal mining business, popularly known as “Galamsey”.

Mr. Ashigbey, who is also the convener for Media Coalition Against Galamsey (MCAG) a pressure group against illegal mining in Ghana, made this assertion during an interactive session he had with students, last Wednesday, at the Adabraka Campus of the African University College of Communications (AUCC).organized by the Kojo Yankah School of Communication Studies, for journalism students at the Discovery House in Accra.

Speaking on the topic “Galamsey; Win or lose”, Mr. Ashigbey touched on the initiative of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey to cause a change in the attitude of Ghanaians towards illegal mining activities.

He shared with participants, some activities of his Group to curb the menace. “We have initiated educative programmes through town hall meetings, stakeholder engagements and writing of petition to the Chief Justice and the Attorney General to bring to focus the dire consequences of illegal mining.”

“We created the Red Friday Campaign where Ghanaians were encouraged to put on red attire every Friday, in support of the initiative.” He added. He was quick to add that the Coalition has not achieved all of its objectives but they have made a significant impact on the fight against illegal mining.

Mr. Ashigbey advised student journalists not to join the bandwagon of lazy journalism but focus more on stories that give voice to the voiceless and the marginalized in society, and also hold authorities accountable.

He said the commitment of the coalition to help stop galamsey remains unchanged, describing it as immutable. “If you do not have passion for journalism, you are in the wrong career path.” he added.

He called on the state to increase budgetary allocation for the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), Institute for Public Relations Ghana (IPR) and government agencies and departments with the mandate to help end galamsey activities in the country.

Story by Benjamin Osei Boateng
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