Since the holy war began against illegal mining or galamsey, for that matter, we have seen and heard government commit funds and other resources towards the fight, including logistics and joint police and military presence in affected communities.
These are steps necessary in sending out an unambiguous statement to the perpetrators and their accomplices that government will not relent in the efforts of making illegal mining unattractive.
Of course, we have seen footages of Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians, including Chinese and Burkinabes, arrested and hauled before the courts; and we have also seen some of their logistics impounded and set ablaze. For purposes of deterrence, that is great. At least, it sends strong signals that crime is abhorrent, and will be decisively combated by relevant authorities.
Particularly when it involves big fish and political animals, such messages get to the ground.
Logistical support
When government therefore invests in the sector to tidy up the mining space, ahead of the implementation of standard mining across board for all economic and industrial actors, such gestures again show concern and commitment to revamp the sector.
We recall that government also sent some other logistics, including ‘gold catchers’, to help actors under the formalised terrain to improve output for the mutual benefit of the state and workers in the sector.
As reported in the media in the last few days, government has also acquired speedboats to help in monitoring the water bodies to ensure that the culture of abuse of these important resources by delinquents in the sector is effectively checked.
Earlier, another facility to monitor volumes of gold production in the sector was also commissioned – all as part of the effort to sanitise the sector and reduce negative impacts on agriculture, wildlife, water supply, community health and unbridled migration.
We want to commend government for its sense of determination and promptness in tackling the menace as well as providing examples in lessons that other governments in the sub-region may learn in improving their informal mining terrain.
Impact
Having made that point, the Daily Statesman believes it is also important that government accounts to the people in terms of impact.
While we have worrying records of lost vegetative cover in hundreds of thousands of hectares, we have not been graphically sensitised on how many hectares have been recovered through reforestation programmes.
And when we are told, for instance, that the Tano, Birim, Ankobrah and Pra are getting cleaner, we should collectively see and feel it in agricultural output and improved water supply systems in previously affected communities.
Particularly when governments globally are under pressure to improve food production, we must have an idea where we were and how far we have come.
More importantly, we need to know the distance left to cover and the assurance that Lake Bosumtwi is Lake Bosumtwi again, as are the estuaries of the Volta Lake or wildlife situation in the Mole Reserve.
Again, at a time that we are being told that because of issues like illegal mining, government is incurring costs upon costs producing water for communities, it is important that we have studies that tell us the current recovery state of the Densu and Ayensu up to the Weija, and what we are doing to sustain the fight.
These are, in the opinion of the Daily Statesman, lawful questions to ask in marching forward as a lead gold-producing nation, food security conscious government and global partners in the fight against global warming.