RESOLVING THE GALAMSEY PROBLEM (NOV 23)

QUITE recently, the nation’s conscience was rudely awaken when more than a dozen people were killed following the collapse of an illegal mine at Dompoase in the Western Region.
The incident brought to the fore the heavy price the illegal mining enterprise, otherwise called galamsey, exacts on the nation. This is in addition to the devastating consequences the operations of these illegal mines have on the environment and, by logical extension, the very lives of the people in the affected communities.
In the face of this national tragedy, many were the voices which called for the adoption of very stringent measures, including an immediate and massive clampdown on the galamsey operators and their prosecution, to help bring them under control.
At a durbar of the chiefs and people of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area last Saturday, President John Evans Atta Mills served notice of his government’s intention to deal firmly with the galamsey menace.
The President pointed out that those illegal miners, in the course of their operations, used dangerous chemicals such as cyanide which polluted the Birim River and other sources of drinking water for the people of the area, thus subjecting them to serious danger (see front page story).
No rational and well-meaning person can quarrel with the observations of the President and his pledge to deal with the galamsey menace.
A practice that devastates such wide traces of arable land which, otherwise, could have been used to produce all kinds of food crops for domestic consumption and also for export and which also contaminates vital sources of drinking water for many communities must evoke the concern of any well-meaning leader.
Admittedly, while we agree that some action must be taken to help bring this galamsey practice under control, the real issue is, what is this action and what form should it take?
There is the tendency, in times like this, to advocate the wholesale arrest and prosecution of those who engage in galamsey as a means of ending it.
It is worth pointing out that even if it is possible to round up all those currently involved in galamsey and have them locked up in legal custody, a new batch of galamsey operators may spring up to take their place, as experience has shown.
This, at best, may only provide a short-term or temporary solution, not the comprehensive and durable one we need.
We believe that we need to look at other innovative ways, such as reorganising the galamsey operators into viable co-operatives with the requisite level of modern equipment and some concessions earmarked for them to operate under the close monitoring and supervision by government agencies.
With this approach, we will kill many birds with one stone — environmental degradation will be brought under check, the pollution of water bodies halted, employment generated for larger numbers of the youth and affected communities positioned to derive optimum benefits from the exploitation of resources.
A better solution holds the best prospect for a comprehensive and durable solution to the current unmitigated galamsey menace.