Organised Labour has demanded that President Nana Ado Dankwa Akufo-Addo declare a state of emergency on illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
It said the declaration must include an order to halt all forms of mining, legal or illegal, in forest reserves and around water bodies, and the immediate evacuation of all mining equipment from those areas.
This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Joshua Ansah, General Secretary, Trades Union Congress, Isaac Bampoe Addo, Chairman of Forum, and Kenneth Koomson, Deputy Secretary General, Ghana Federation of Labour.
The statement called on the government to dispatch police and military personnel with full authority to dismantle and destroy all mining and earth-moving equipment near rivers and forest areas.
The government should also promptly annul LI2462 and withdraw any licenses for prospecting and mining in forests, protected areas, and near bodies of water.
The statement called for the establishment of a special court to prosecute those who engaged in illegal mining.
It declared that if the government did not address those concerns by the end of September 2024, organised labour would stage a series of protests and a nationwide strike to press for the demands.
“We call on all well-meaning Ghanaians to join organized labour in the fight against this menace. Galamsey must stop now,” it said.
The statement said organised labour had noted the ongoing public discussions on illegal mining and the resulting devastation of the nation’s forest cover, water bodies, and environment, as well as the potential hazards and serious health risks posed to communities living near galamsey sites.
Its effects have included exposure to toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide, an increase in respiratory and waterborne diseases caused by polluted air and water, among other severe consequences.
“It is now clear to us as it is to all well-meaning Ghanaians that the menace of galamsey has reached a crisis proportion. The depletion of our forest cover has never been this rapid. The destruction of our water bodies is at an unprecedented scale. Our entire ecosystem is on the precipice,” it said.
The statement drew attention to the Ghana Water Company Limited’s (GWCL) inability to produce the required volumes of water for the people of Cape Coast and Elmina primarily because of the heavy pollution of the Pra River from activities of illegal mining.
In 2022, the GWCL shut down its water treatment plant in Kyebi because “the Birim River from which water is pumped for treatment to the township and its environs has been heavily polluted due to the operations of illegal miners.”
The cost of treating water had gone up by about tenfold according to GWCL.
The statement said Ghana was at a risk of importing water for household and industrial consumption, adding that the torrents of videos and photos of heavily polluted and discoloured water bodies were alarming.
“Even more harrowing are the videos and photos of lifeless bodies of young people pulled from galamsey pits every now and then. The threat to food supply has been growing as agricultural lands are appropriated for mining activities.
“The intensive and inappropriate use of mining-related chemicals is affecting productivity of agricultural lands and food safety,” the statement added.
GNA
