illegal miners degrading farm lands
“One of the most worrying issues that have been on the rise that the authorities are aware of is illegal mining or “galamsey” as it is called.
Galamsey, which means ‘gather them and sell,’ is the highly illegal practice of mining for gold without a permit from the Minerals Commission. It doesn’t take much to get involved in this practice. All you need is determination and the courage to WANT to venture into a death trap with the hope that you will come out of it safely, and a millionaire.
Well, maybe not a millionaire. But you will definitely return a few times richer. The majority of those who take part in this do not have in their possession any skill or the technical know-how of mining. The art of galamsey basically involves unqualified, unskilled personnel who pick any area in the country that is rich in gold or where this activity is being practiced to join in.
One would ask, but why galamsey? Galamsey because it’s an easy way to make money. Galamsey because authorities will not bother with the inspection of sites from time to time. Galamsey because there will be no payment of taxes to the government, royalties to chiefs of the area or any of the financial brouhaha that comes with owning or working in a legally recognized business.
Due to the fact that this business is not being established in the proper manner, a lot of vital factors are being ignored here. First, foremost and most importantly, in any organization, the primary concern should and must always be the safety of the individuals coming in and out, whether they have a hand in it or not, as well as the surroundings of that establishment.
Most galamsey mines are just a shabby set up and they do not have any proper foundation, hence the frequent caving in of the mines from time to time leading to the deaths of many of these workers. Secondly, there is no proper owner of these mines and so there is no system or authority to check misunderstandings among workers (that mostly come about from sharing money or the valuable gold among themselves), as well as the general welfare of the mines.
But how did galamsey come about? Galamsey though illegal, can still be termed as a small scale mining business. Small scale mining is not illegal. These are simply smaller mining ventures engaging in mining activities that are in possession of the permits and licenses from the Minerals Commission and all other necessary authorities connected with mining in Ghana. They pay royalties to the chiefs of the lands on which they mine, taxes to the Ghana government and partake in corporate social responsibility activities in their mining communities. But don’t breathe a sigh of relief over the goodness of the legal small scale mining ventures just yet. It has been gathered that some of the individuals who engage in these legal small scale mining businesses are the “sponsors” for the illegal galamsey businesses. Shocking isn’t it? As mentioned earlier, there is no proper system to check the activities of galamsey. Every business has to start off with some source of capital, and it only “makes sense” that the so-called “sponsors” of galamsey would be people who have some sort of knowledge about the mining industry.
As if matters couldn’t get any worse, some of these “sponsors” are mostly the Chinese. They are virtually taking over the galamsey business in Ghana now, with their huge containers containing heavy machinery. As mentioned earlier, due to the non-regulatory nature of this business, a lot of factors are not being taken into consideration, rules are not being applied. For instance, there have been reports that the Chinese have often been seen carelessly using mercury in or near the source of water for most towns, villages and communities situated in the mining vicinity. There have been several incidents where the inhabitants have had very nasty and perhaps, deadly confrontations with these foreigners all in the name of putting an end to this illegal activity.
What’s there to be said at this point? Is it not such a shame that a business as lucrative as this, a business that could put Ghana at the forefront of all worldwide gold mining activities, is being reduced to this?
What is the way forward? Should authorities seize all these illegal galamsey sites? Should all foreigners and “sponsors” be made to face the full rigors of the law? Should those young able-bodied men be educated more on mining so that they can practice it legally? Should parliament pass a bill to check all offenders with regards to galamsey? Hmmmmmmmmm…
By Baaba Eshun-Wilson