Immediately illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is mentioned, fingers are pointed at the government of the day, with some calling for the resignation of the President. The latest name that has also become synonymous with galamsey is Aisha Huang
Notwithstanding, the truth remains that before Aisha Huang came into the picture, galamsey was already a national problem that all previous governments in the 4th Republic had to deal with.
This stresses the point that this menace, which has become a national security threat, did not start with the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government.
It is also a fact that Aisha Huang is not the only person responsible for all the harm galamsey has caused Ghana as a nation. It is therefore irresponsible for journalists and politicians to reduce the discussion on this national problem to one Chinese national who has been arrested, and standing trial.
What is more worrying is the way some politicians in the cloak of lawyers and security experts have decided to narrow the discussion on the success of the galamsey fight to the President’s ability to tell when one Chinese illegal miner was repatriated or deported.
Aisha Huang
Without any sense of shame, such individuals sit on national televisions to call for the President’s resignation on grounds of not being able to tell on camera when Aisha Huang was deported upon her first arrest in 2018.
To such individuals, the inability of the President to tell when the Galamsey Queen was deported shows that he is not on top of issues, regardless of all that he would have done to get this challenge fixed.
Equally disturbing is the role the media are playing to help the state defeat the few greedy ones who are making huge sums of money at the expense of the citizens’ livelihoods. It is unacceptable for practicing journalists who are known for their high level of education to set agenda that creates room for politicians to politicise a menace whose rippling effects transcend party colours.
The public must not be proud of those journalists who are using their shows to score cheap political points for their favourite presidential hopefuls. Such journalists are worse off than the politicians they allege to be destroying our water bodies for their personal gains.
It is equally worrying to observe that these journalists can remember that President Akufo-Addo promised to put his presidency on the line to fight illegal mining but cannot tell a single measure he has put in place to curtail this menace.
Risk
He indeed risked his re-election when he allowed security agencies to arrest, prosecute and jail illegal miners in an election year. Enough of the nation-wrecking journalism being practiced by some television and radio show hosts in the country!
Just like the President, every single Ghanaian has a role to play in this fight. The media, for instance, are expected to open the eyes of the citizens to what is expected of them as far as this fight is concerned.
It is an open secret that the Akufo-Addo government is doing a lot to fight galamsey and at the same time protecting the livelihood of the citizens living in mining communities.
As part of the government’s effort in stopping this menace, Community Mining Scheme has been revamped. Ghanaians have been given training in responsible mining and subsequently provided with mining licenses to ensure responsible mining among the locals. It is recently reported by a government online portal, Ghana today.gov.gh, that the government through the Minerals Commission had secured about 100 licenses for members of Small Scale Miners Association of Ghana.
Prevention
The government has also procured over 100 mercury-free machines called gold catchers for local miners to prevent them from mining with mercury, which has been identified as a dangerous pollutant to our water bodies. Speed boats have also been procured for the Navy to patrol our water bodies to get them rid of illegal miners.
If the government has done all these and a lot more and yet the act persists, it will be irresponsible for journalists and power-thirsty politicians to suggest that the President has failed and must resign. A fair assessment of what the government has done by far shows that it needs the support of the public to succeed in this fight.
This does not suggest that the government has done everything right in the fight against galamsey. That is why the support of the media and the public is needed to push the government to do what it might not have done.
There is no more time left. Let us come together as a nation to support the government to fight galamsey, with the media playing a critical role.
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