3 More Groups Join Call For Illegal Mining Combat

Three more groups have reitshy;erated the call for immediate clampshy;down on illegal mining.

They are the Coalition of Muslim Organisations, Ghana (COMOG), the Ghana Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) and the Ghana Affiliate of the Internationshy;al Association for Impact evaluateshy;ment (IAIA).

In separate statements issued by their respective leaders and copied to the Ghanaian Times, they asked the government to immediately stop the destruction of the counshy;try’s river bodies and forest cover.

The COMOG statement issued by its President, Abdel-Manan Abshy;del-Rahman, condemned strongly the illegal mining activities and their threat to the country’s envishy;ronment, economy, and national development.

It said the activities contravened Islamic principles of environment serenity and social responsibility and also undermine the entire mining industry likewise poising national security risks.
 
It, therefore, called on the govshy;ernment to increase enforcement and monitoring of mining activshy;ities; strengthen regulations and laws to prevent illegal mining and use community engagement and education to raise awareness about the risks of illegal mining.

“COMOG is committed to proshy;moting Islamic values of environshy;mental serenity, social responsibilishy;ty, and economic justice in Chana.

“We urge all stakeholders to join us in condemning illegal mining and work towards a solution that protects the environment, economy and the health conditions of our people,” it said.

Similarly, the IAIA statement issued by its President, Ebenezer Appah-Sampong, condemned the practice and called for immediate action including strengthening community and institutional inshy;volvement.
 
Other measures, it recommendshy;ed, included the enforcement of a nationwide moratorium on all small-scale mining, and designating No-Go Areas to protect sensitive ecosystems.

They also proposed confiscating illegal mining sites for restoration and regulating mining equipment to curb illegal activities and urged political parties to publicly conshy;demn galamsey to raise awareness.

The IAIA said solving this crisis required urgent, decisive measures and collaboration to ensure a susshy;tainable future for Ghana.

The GAWU statement issued by its General Secretary, Andrew Tagoe, said food security in Ghana had been increasingly threatened by illegal mining, evident by the wideshy;spread destruction of farmland, water pollution, and forest loss.

This, it said, had led to signifishy;cant economic and environmental obstacles, including food scarcishy;ty, high crop prices, and climate alter effects.

It cited research which highlightshy;ed that over 7,400 galamsey sites had damaged 2.5 million hectshy;ares of forest, leading to the loss of cocoa and oil palm plantations, which undermined biodiversity and agricultural productivity.

It reiterated calls for a state of emergency to address the galamshy;sey crisis and demand immediate government action to reclaim destroyed lands, restore polluted water bodies, and prosecute those responsible for illegal mining activishy;ties.

The statement said this was imshy;portant because the crisis had not only led to significant economic losses, estimated at over US$ 4 bilshy;lion annually, but also posed severe health risks to citizens.

If not addressed, the Union said the practice could exacerbate unemployment, health issues, and food insecurity, making the agriculshy;tural sector increasingly untenable.

The statements by the groups come days after heated advocacy from various groups and individshy;uals compelled the government to direct regional ministers to enhance enforcement actions in addition to the setting up of an inter-ministerishy;al committee on galamsey.Ghanaian Times