Kenneth Ashigbey, founder of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, has raised a red flag over the devastating impact of illegal mining, or “galamsey,” on Ghana’s water bodies. He has likened the pollution of water sources through galamsey activities to an act of “genocide,” highlighting the severe health risks posed by the poisoned water.
Ashigbey emphasized that the mass poisoning of people through toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide in water sources is equivalent to genocide.
He noted that the alarming levels of these chemicals found in water bodies due to illegal mining are not just an environmental issue but a matter of life and death.
Entire communities are at risk of being poisoned, yet the urgency to act is shockingly absent, Ashigbey lamented. He called for immediate and drastic measures to tackle the galamsey menace, including deploying the military to clear illegal miners from water bodies and buffer zones.
Ashigbey proposed that the President deploy the Air Force, Navy, and Army to take control of the situation and stop the poisoning by the end of the year. He also demanded that political leaders, including former President John Mahama and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, publicly commit to addressing the galamsey crisis in their manifestos.
Ashigbey insisted that the fight against galamsey should be non-negotiable and that the President should declare a state of emergency over the country’s water bodies. With a meeting on the horizon, Ashigbey expressed hope that his call to action would result in meaningful steps to combat what he has labeled as “genocide.”
