For years, I have spoken about the dangers of galamsey, and today I must speak again, louder and clearer: illegal mining is destroying Ghana, and we cannot afford to look away any longer.
I have seen with my own eyes the devastation of our rivers, forests, and farmlands. The Pra, Birim, Ankobra, and countless others have turned into lifeless streams of mud and poison. Communities that once drank clean water now depend on polluted, toxic rivers. Farmers who once tilled fertile land now stand on wastelands scarred by reckless mining.
If we continue like this, Ghana will soon get to a state of no return—a shameful prospect for a country so richly blessed by nature. And it is not only our land and rivers at stake; galamsey has become a breeding ground for disease, social decay, and poverty. We are mortgaging the health and dignity of generations yet unborn.
Let me say this without hesitation: galamsey is not only a crime against the state, it is a crime against the soul of Ghana.
Today, the consequences are staring us in the face. Communities in mining zones are now reporting rising cases of skin diseases, waterborne infections, and even new kidney cases, spread through the influx of transient workers. Pregnant women and children are drinking contaminated water, with long-term effects on their health.
Worse still, recent studies show that mercury and other toxic chemicals from galamsey have entered our food chain. Fish, vegetables, and staple crops are being poisoned, creating a silent epidemic of food contamination. Ghanaians are unknowingly eating poison every day because of galamsey. This is not speculation—this is happening now.
Are we going to sit idly until our hospitals overflow with patients suffering from cancers, organ failure, and birth defects caused by poisoned water and food?
I have consistently described galamsey as a cancer destroying our country. And I mean it. I have warned that if we allow these activities to continue, they will eventually destroy Ghana completely.
I have also made it clear that the Ghana Armed Forces have the capacity to stop galamsey within a week—if only politicians would keep their hands off the process. Political interference, corruption, and selective justice are the real reasons galamsey thrives in our nation.
What Must Be Done
- Declare galamsey a national emergency. We must treat it with the urgency of a disaster.
- Depoliticise enforcement. Allow the security services to do their work without interference.
- Hold everyone accountable. From financiers to chiefs to politicians, no one should be untouchable.
- Restore the land and rivers. Reclamation and reforestation must go hand in hand with enforcement.
- Provide alternative livelihoods. Young people who go into galamsey out of desperation must be given a future outside the pits.
- Ensure transparency. Licensing must be cleaned up, and the public must be empowered to hold leaders to account.
I call on every Ghanaian citizen, chiefs, journalists, civil society, and faith leaders to rise and say enough is enough. Silence is complicity. Neutrality is betrayal.
I also call on the international community: support us not with empty words but with real action, funding, and accountability.
Togbui Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe
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