Ken Ashigbey Urges Ghana To Regain Momentum in Fight Against Galamsey

The fight against galamsey in Ghana has lost much steam, and that trend has spooked several observers. Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, expressed frustration over the dwindling public demand for an end to illegal mining during an interview on Citi FM recently. He said that the Ghana middle class has not been very committed enough to demonstrating and grilling this issue that has continued to ravage the environment of that country and the communities.

Ashigbey took it a notch higher when he attacked Parliament specifically for failing to withdraw the Legislative Instrument, L.I. 2462, that allows mining in forest reserves a very alarming allowance considering the devastating environmental impacts. He noted that such action is standing in the way of full progress on those issues and making illegal mining more active with almost no consequences. He further admitted that even the media have lost some steam in keeping the public engaged in the conversation.

As Ashigbey said, the challenge is, that while there was some response to the government for some of these earlier efforts like the October 10 anti-galamsey strike, these have not been sustained. By October 15, the stakeholders had hoped to see more concrete action in Parliament, but nothing much came out. This contributes to public disengagement and the loss of trust in the process.

Mr. Ashigbey said the fight against illegal mining needs to be restarted through the re-engagement of critical stakeholders, including the middle class, academia, and civil society. He reiterated that what is required now is for all to get involved and make it an obligatory issue at all levels to push the government to act in a manner that will help put an end to galamsey. This precarious situation will only continue to pose high-level environmental and social risks unless there is sustained pressure from the public.