Abraham Koomson, Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), has proposed that declaring a national state of emergency on illegal mining, commonly known as ‘galamsey,’ is the only effective solution to curb the widespread devastation caused by this illegal activity.
He believes that such a decisive move would grant the President the necessary emergency powers to tackle what he described as a “gargantuan environmental degradation” issue.
Speaking on Ahotor FM’s Yepe Ahunu show, hosted by Nana Dogbe, Mr. Koomson expressed deep concern about the destructive impact of galamsey on the country’s natural resources.
He highlighted the rampant destruction of forests, farmlands, and water bodies, emphasizing how these illegal mining activities have put the health of the population and the future of the country in grave jeopardy.
Abraham Koomson attributed the failure to stop galamsey to poor leadership, particularly under the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
He argued that the leadership has not only failed to act decisively but has allowed the situation to worsen, leading to the unchecked destruction of lands and vital water sources.
“The problem is leadership,” Mr. Koomson said. “No civilized country would allow such destruction to continue.”
He called on President Akufo-Addo to revisit the report compiled by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Professor Frimpong Boateng, on the illegal mining crisis.
Mr. Koomson emphasized that the report contained all the necessary information to combat galamsey effectively, but he accused the President of not taking the issue seriously enough.
“What more do you need beyond what Prof. Frimpong wrote?” Mr. Koomson questioned.
“Akufo-Addo knows what is happening, but he’s playing games with the fight against galamsey.”
In response to the growing outcry from stakeholders, President Akufo-Addo recently set up an ad-hoc ministerial committee to assess the government’s efforts to combat illegal mining.
The five-member committee, led by National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah, includes Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister for Defence Dominic Nitiwul, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations Ignatius Baffour Awuah, and Minister of Information Fatimatu Abubakar.
Despite the formation of this committee, Mr. Koomson remains skeptical.
He dismissed the idea of further meetings or discussions, stating that only a declaration of a state of emergency would bring about meaningful change.
“The meeting with the Employment Ministry will not change anything if galamsey is not stopped immediately,” he remarked.
“If it were up to me alone, we wouldn’t even attend that meeting, because people will think we are weak if we do. We will write to them officially, stating that our only demand is for galamsey to be stopped, not to sit in more meetings. Our focus should be on the report written by Prof. Frimpong Boateng.” He remarked.
Mr. Koomson further criticized President Akufo-Addo’s failure to fulfill his promise to combat illegal mining, reminding the public of the President’s previous declaration that he was willing to put his presidency on the line to end the galamsey crisis.
According to Mr. Koomson, the President’s inability to deliver on this promise suggests that his leadership has been more of a burden than a blessing to the nation.
“President Akufo-Addo’s failure to fight galamsey after putting his presidency on the line shows that he has been more of a curse than a blessing to us,” Mr. Koomson concluded.
LISTEN TO ABRAHAM KOOMSON IN THE AUDIO BELOW:
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh (#RomeoWrites) / Ahotoronline.com
