KEY POINTS
- Ghana’s CHRAJ chief criticizes the president’s failure to stop illegal mining.
- Galamsey has caused severe water pollution and health risks.
- Whittal supports calls for a state of emergency to address the crisis.
The commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice Joseph Whittal has angrily condemned the government for its poor performance in the fight against ‘galamsey.’
Whittal was bitter in his disappointment in President Nana Akufo-Addo for failing to respond to his promise on this environmental pollution that has taken the lives and health of many Ghanaians and massively affected the country’s natural resources.
Speaking in an interview, Whittal criticised the failure of the president to fulfil his promise. In fact, Akufo-Addo himself had once stated that he would personally stake his presidency to stop galamsey crisis – but he has not done enough.
The CHRAJ boss explained the gravity of the problem by categorically stating that the manner in which the inherited land has been invaded and exploited by the operators of the galamsey has resulted in a high level of pollution in water sources that pose danger to the lives and sources of livelihoods of many Ghanaians.
Calls for emergency action
Whittal further stressed that there was much more that the government needed to do to protect people’s health, citing risks of water-borne diseases.
People in the mining areas nowadays are experiencing stillbirths, congenital anomalies, and kidney diseases as a result of galamsey.
“Why wait?” Whittal asked, pointing to several indicators. He called on the government to stop turning a blind eye to the galamsey crisis, pointing out that the president has to act fast to prevent the deterioration of health in the population than it is already doing.
These comments come at the heels of the frustration experienced by many citizens of this country in the fight against the menace.
A nation frustrated by inaction
The case has made the issue of illegal mining to be a thorn on the side of environmentalists, civil society organizations and the public at large.
Galamsey activities has not only polluted river bodies but has as well impacted the farmlands, eradicating livelihood sources for many people in the rural areas.
This growing discontentment comes in the backdrop of a notification by Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) that the company could soon supply water scarce areas such as Cape Coast and Elmina and so on.
This is as a result of several factors, especially the effects of galamsey in that the water treatment plants now find it very difficult to source for raw water.
The problem was spotlighted in a JoyNews documentary titled Poisoned Rivers, which vividly exposed the destruction caused by illegal mining.
Whittal stressed that President Akufo-Addo’s inability to make significant headway on the issue has disappointed many Ghanaians.
He noted that a leader must serve the people, and in this case, the government has fallen short. He urged the president, who he acknowledged has a strong reputation for defending human rights, to act decisively before his term ends.
