INTRODUCTION: Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. Proverbs 20:30 GNT

Illegal small-scale mining (popularly known as ‘galamsey’), and other forms of irresponsible mining have caused severe damage to Ghana’s Water Resources, Forest Reserves and Farm Lands. As the elders said in “Things Fall Apart”, “if one finger brought oil, it soiled the others.”  

Even though only a handful of Ghanaians reap the financial rewards of galamsey, the immediate and long-term repercussions on the environment affect an entire population.  

The mineral resources in the country belong to all Ghanaians, and as such, advocating for it to be managed for the collective interest of Ghanaians should not be interpreted as unreasonable. Regrettably, no Ghanaian will be immune from the effects of galamsey. Therefore, concerned Ghanaians are at liberty to hold the Government and key stakeholders accountable for every aspect of mining operations that fall foul of the Laws of Ghana.  

As a nation, we have come to a crossroads, and we have to make a rational decision. That decision must be made on the pillars of honesty, patriotism, ethics, and the well-being of generations yet unborn.

THREAT OF GALAMSEY? When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. Hebrews 6:7 NLV

Illegal miners make use of sulfuric acid, mercury, arsenic, chromium, lead etc. in their operations. These chemicals contaminate water bodies (rivers, streams etc.) and can destroy some form of aquatic life. Galamsey sites which are not reclaimed and rehabilitated become unproductive and unable to sustain plant and animal life. The ecological integrity of these galamsey communities is under threat.

However, the attention should not be focused on galamsey alone.  Without efficient supervision, even licensed mining can be equally harmful.

Ore extracted by mining operations usually has two components: the ore mineral containing the desired metal and waste material referred to as gangue. Removing the gangue from the ores produces piles of waste known as tailings.

Poor tailings management by licensed miners may lead to particles of toxic metals blown by the wind or leached by rainfall, resulting in contamination of surface water, groundwater, and soils.Toxic chemicals are also emitted into the atmosphere leading to poor ambient air quality in galamsey communities.

The pollution of water bodies, soil, and the air, poses great risk to Ghanaians and wildlife alike. Residents of galamsey communities are especially exposed to high levels of pollutants. Due to the extensive work of Professor Paul Poku Sampene Ossei, there is evidence that galamsey communities are not only at risk of reproductive complications but premature death may arise in some instances.

There have been reported cases of children being born with deformities. The Paediatric Society of Ghana has expressed concern about the death of children and cognitive deficits stemming from galamsey.

Again, ingestion of dust from galamsey sites may lead to adverse health effects. Instances of lung diseases, liver and kidney diseases, skin infections, and waterborne diseases (Typhoid, Cholera etc.) from contaminated water per some reports are on the rise.

The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists has sounded the alarm on these issues. Consequently, cities and towns that depend on water sources polluted by galamsey and other forms of irresponsible mining are far from safe.

WATER QUALITY AND SUPPLY: You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed.  Jeremiah 51:13 NIV

I have been wondering, in the past week, if Ghana is carrying out a scientific experiment to ascertain if indeed “Water is Life”. The rate of disruption of the character of rivers, streams, wetlands, aquifers, and other aquatic systems that affect the hydrologic cycle (movement of water about the earth) is alarming.

The adequate supply of wholesome drinking water is in the balance.  Irrigation and livestock watering will also be affected if galamsey is not curtailed. Some of the policy objectives of theMinistry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR)are to improve access and coverage of potable water in rural and urban communities, accelerate the provision of adequate, safe, and affordable water, protect wetlands, and promote sustainable water resources development and management. How can this be achieved under the galamsey threat?

Water Resources Commission is the agency under MSWR responsible foradvising the Government on any matter likely to have an adverse effect on the water resources of Ghana. Water Resources Commission has identified galamsey and the indiscriminate discharge of untreated mine effluents as a menace to some river basins in Ghana.

Additional threats affect specific river basins in peculiar ways including the following. There is deforestation and siltation in the Black Volta Basin. Regarding the Densu River Basin, there is indiscriminate harvesting of wood, use of agrochemicals in farming and harmful chemicals for fishing. Rampant use of harmful chemicals for fishing and illegal chain-saw operations occurs in the Ankobra Basin. Then again, Pra (Offin) Basin is faced with the encroachment of wetlands and buffer areas by private developers for settlement and infrastructure development.

How does the Ghana Water Company, another agency of MSWR, meet the increasing demand for safe drinking water for a rapidly growing population when these water basins are being polluted incessantly?

Resolving water quality considerations and water distribution problems will require renewed efforts to protect water resources, slowing population growth to reduce water needs, and making the necessary price adjustments for water consumption. A key consideration in maintaining water supplies and water quality is preserving biodiversity by avoiding disruption of aquatic systems and their bordering terrestrial systems.

SAVING FOREST RESERVES: Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no one travels. Jeremiah 51:43 NIV

Climate Change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, prompting the emergence of new hazards such as variable rainfall patterns, extreme temperatures, and acceleration of sea level rise. Deforestation through galamsey and other forms of mining increase the level of atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and results in the modification of climate.

This promotes Climate Change and speeds up climate-induced hazards. For anyone who appreciates the role of Forest Reserves and Vegetative Cover, allowing any form of licensed mining in Forest Reserves is disappointing, and looking on unconcerned about galamsey within these zones is atrocious.

Forest Reserves and Vegetative Cover generally play a significant role in the microclimate of towns and are a key part of the hydrologic cycle.

Vegetation reduces air pollution as it filters dust particles and pollutants. Vegetation also processes solar radiation and helps reduce ambient air temperatures through evapotranspiration, which is a key component of the hydrologic cycle. Vegetation through their roots also absorbs rainwater that is infiltrated by soil, and most importantly sequester CO₂. It is thus a fair request for Civil Society Organisations to advocate for the repeal of the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations 2022, LI 2462.

Apart from the destruction of watersheds, wetlands, and forests which store and slowly release water, the scarring and disruption of land surfaces affect agricultural activities.

Many farmers have lost their farmlands to galamsey activities. The completion of galamsey operations poses other problems. Soils are contaminated and water sources are polluted. Without fertile soils and clean water for irrigation, farmers would be  forced to migrate to favourable agricultural lands in different regions of Ghana.  

Thus, if stringent measures are not put in place, the reduction in agricultural land will be accompanied by a reduction in food production and food exports. Ultimately, food imports and high food prices would follow suit.

FUTURE OF MINING TOWNS AND CITIES:Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitants, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged. Isaiah 6:11  NIV

Many towns have been wretchedly wounded by galamsey and unsustainable mining. There seems to be an overreliance on the exploitation of gold judging by licenses issued by the Minerals Commission in the last decade. 

The upsurge in Mining Leases, Restricted Mining Leases, and Small-Scale Mining Leases, arouse my curiosity. Do we have an inexhaustible supply of gold deposits? What is the productive lifespan of existing mines? Are there any considerations for future generations in the exploitation of these mineral resources? Unless there is political will and a strict law enforcement regime in the mining sector, even licensed mining may cause irreversible damage to the environment.

Citizens should assess how well mining towns such as Obuasi, Tarkwa, Prestea, Bibiani and Bogoso have fared. Has the many years of mining resulted in corresponding infrastructure development in these mining towns? Has there been a fair and equitable distribution of the revenue and profits from the mining sector?

The maintenance and rehabilitation of mines are essential. What happens when mines begin to operate at marginal profits or make losses when the world gold price is not favourable?  

Rehabilitation programmes usually require huge funding. There have been numerous cases where mine production has ceased without rehabilitation in many parts of the world.

There is also a problem of the collapse of lands above underground mines.  Such subsidence can tilt houses, crack sewer lines, and disrupt groundwater systems. Abandoned mines pose real or potential threats to human safety, as well as environmental damages.  

“Boom and Bust” is very common within mining towns. History presents us with numerous towns that have gone bust after a mineral resource has been depleted. Pomona, Kolmanskop, Leydsdorp and Millwood are popular ghost towns in Africa.

It is highly risky for towns to heavily depend on a single economic activity for the well-being of its inhabitants. If galamsey persists, there will be a mass exodus from galamsey communities and ghost towns would be the logical result. People would migrate to the nearest towns and areas of economic opportunities. While some towns will have an influx of population through migration, other towns would lose population through economic decline, health risk and a lack of basic services.  Even major cities (Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi) will have an influx of migrants.

This increase in population would affect the provision of essential services for inhabitants including water supply, electricity supply, and security. If the standard of living becomes unbearable in these major cities, citizens are likely to leave the shores of Ghana.

REMEDIES: Sovereign LORD, you made the earth and the sky by your power and might; nothing is too difficult for you. Jeremiah 32:17 GNT

In fact, law enforcement is a major leg in curtailing galamsey and water pollution.  The figureheads surreptitiously championing the extensive galamsey enterprise should be brought to book while legal mining should be done under vigilant supervision. Non-Ghanaian miners without the requisite work permits should be deported.  

Compliance with laws and regulations in the mining sector will involve enhancing the capacity of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and fully supporting their budgetary requirements.

Key institutions that require improved financial allocations include the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Ministry of Environment, Science Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, National Intelligence Bureau, Minerals Commission, Ghana Geological Survey Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, Lands Commission, Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, Forestry Commission, Irrigation Development Authority, Water Resources Commission, Water Resource Institute, Ghana Water Company Limited and  District Assemblies.

These are all key stakeholders, who play essential roles in the Mining, Water Resources, Land Use and Environmental Sectors.  All the data needed and technical know-how required to launch a fruitful campaign against galamsey can be provided by these institutions acting together with Ghana Chamber of Mines, Civil Society Organisations, and the Media Outlets. Thus, Ghana’s Water Resources and Environment can be rescued with a ‘belt and braces’ approach and not a ‘half-hearted’ approach.

Media has played an important role in the fight against galamsey but they could do better. They should never relent in their efforts but continue unabated until our water bodies recover.

Even though the Asantehene, His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has shown exemplary leadership in the fight against galamsey, a lot more is required from all traditional leaders.

Traditional Authorities must reconsider their traditional roles in the land tenure system in saving our environment. They must be at the forefront of the fight against galamsey. Religious Institutions must lend a helping hand to the work of the Media. Ghanaians living abroad should also take a keen interest in the happenings in their home towns because if nothing is done their investments back home will be affected and their loved ones stand the risk of health complications.

Advocating for behavioural change through sustained educational campaigns in the mining towns and galamsey communities about responsible and sustainable mining is necessary.

Mining companies must invest heavily in communities that host mineral resources to ensure post mining economic resilience and sustainable livelihoods. The Government of Ghana must pay special attention to infrastructure development in mining communities in addition to ensuring that the mining companies develop the mining communities. A ranking system should be instituted for the performance of mining districts in the fight against galamsey.

Although considered controversial in some quarters, a reduction in population growth rates through education and family planning is of great importance in establishing a sustainable future for humankind.  

It is fundamental to use water resources sustainably whilst the water quality is maintained. A large expansion of agriculture (farming intensifies and new land is brought into production) to provide growing populations with food requirements is likely to lead to further deforestation, loss of species, soil erosion, pollution from pesticides, and fertilizer runoff. Limiting the extent to which towns and cities encroach upon agricultural land is imperative.

CONCLUSION: People who once ate the finest food die starving in the streets; those raised in luxury are pawing through garbage for food. Lamentations 4:5 GNT

It is sometimes difficult to help people who are adamant. Some galamsey communities see no wrong with the destruction of river bodies and the environment. To them there is money to be made.  If you have made a fortune from galamsey, it does not warrant a mockery of the concerned citizens who worry about how these activities though miles away, would affect or determine their destinies eventually if nothing is done to curtail the menace.

If it is the wish of some Ghanaians that we leave galamsey communities to their own devices with the claim that there are no alternative jobs, then we will all bear the brunt soon. We cannot be despondent; we have to bite the bullet and communicate our displeasure to our political leaders (both incumbent and opposition).

The increase in mineral licenses has to correspond with the capacity of state institutions to monitor and supervise the activities of mining companies.

How far mining can solve extreme poverty and provide sustainable employment must also be assessed again and again.

Time is of the essence and the political cycle cannot determine the season to end galamsey. To make it commercially impracticable to mine gold to support Ghana’s economic recovery is not the goal of the campaign against galamsey. All citizens seek is mining and production in a responsible way that ensures the health and safety of citizens and prevents environmental degradation.

For the vast network of water resources Ghana has been blessed with, it is unimaginable to think about water scarcity and water importation.

This blessing is increasingly becoming a curse because citizens risk consuming unwholesome water or poison for that matter. The self-destruction must be halted. For in the end, no one is safe, neither the wealthy nor the poor, the politically inclined or the apolitical.  Above all, life is not guaranteed.