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Dangers posed by the littering of plastic bags and surface mining (galamsey)
I had wanted to wait until you had been sworn in before addressing this letter to you.
But the “Ayarigasation” of the Appointments Committee has forced my hand: I mean, who knows how much longer you will have to wait before the Committee interviews you?
No – the issue I am writing to you about cannot wait, so I am not worried about jumping the gun. Anyway, you, with your scientific training, wouldn’t mind (I am sure) once you agreed with me that what I am writing to you about is the most grievous issue facing our nation today and that once you have accepted that conclusion, you must not waste any time at all – just as you wouldn’t dawdle over carrying out surgery on a patient whose heart is showing signs of giving up.
Now, Prof: the Inter-governmental Committee on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated unequivocally that: “Africa’s survival is at risk. No continent will be struck as severely by the impacts of climate change as Africa.”
The IPCC goes on: “Given its geographical position, the continent will be particularly vulnerable, due to the considerably limited adaptive capacity, exacerbated by widespread poverty and the existing low levels of development. In Africa… climate change is a threat to economic growth (due to changes in natural systems and resources), long-term prosperity, as well as the survival of already vulnerable populations.
“[The] consequences of this include [the] persistence of economic, social and environmental vulnerabilities, particularly for the economic and livelihood sectors. Climate change, variability and associated increased disaster risks are an additional burden to sustainable development in Africa… Constraints in technological options, limited infrastructure, skills, information and links to markets further heighten vulnerability to climate stresses.”
Prof, here is the red alert: the Report projects that in the next three years – that is, by 2020 “… between 75 and 250 million people in Africa are projected to be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change.
“By 2020, in some [African] countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50%. Agricultural production, including access to food, in many African countries is projected to be severely compromised. This would further adversely affect food security and exacerbate malnutrition.” Source: Report: Summary for Policy Makers, IPCC, 2007.
Prof, when the IPCC talks about increased water stress, it is, of course, using the volume of water supply that existed when the Report was compiled a while ago. But as you know, the water situation in Ghana (in particular) has been deteriorating relentlessly, due to the activities of galamsey operators.
Here, for instance, is a four-year-old report from the Daily Graphic (03 October, 2013): “Galamsey is killing water bodies.”
“The heavy pollution of water bodies is making it too expensive for the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to operate water treatment plants in many ….communities. The GWCL is compelled to shut down the water treatment plants in those areas or drill boreholes for water supply to the communities.
“Currently, the GWCL has shut down one of its treatment plants at Odaso, which supplied water to parts of Obuasi and surrounding areas in the Ashanti Region because the cost of chemicals used for the treatment of water from the OdaRiver has skyrocketed due to the pollution of the river.
“The GWCL [also] had to shut down its water treatment plant at Kyebi for one-and a-half years, due to the pollution of the Birem
[Further] the heavy pollution of the Offin River is also making the operation of water treatment plants for some communities in the Central Region a very expensive option….
“It is for this reason that the people in the mining community of Tontokrom in the Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region are now relying on the use of sachetwater for cooking!…. The GWCL [is] compelled to drill boreholes for the people of Dunkwa and surrounding areas because [it] cannot rely on River …
“The challenges of the GWCL in respect of water treatment can be well appreciated on a visit to …. the Amansie West and Amansie Central districts in the Ashanti Region and the Upper Denkyira East District in the Central Region. …The Daily Graphic [saw]… the terribly polluted rivers, as [galamsey] miners had blocked the courses of the water bodies, for mining activities.
“At Tontokrom in the Amansie West District…, the [water in the] River Oda had become brownish and thick, or to bring the description home, it had become like ‘Tom Brown’ porridge – thick and dull! In some instances, one could see trails of oil on the surface of the river, apparently from the equipment used by the illegal miners.
“The situation was not different at Dunkwa, where River Offin has been badly polluted by the galamsey operators. …Basin officers of the WRC have been monitoring the water bodies regularly and [say they] can attribute [the] pollution) to illegal mining…. Measurement is done in the form of [an] Index [top marks =100], with the following classification: Above 80 – Class 1 or good; from 51 to 80 – Class 2 or fairly good; from 25 to 50 – Class 3 or poor; below 25 – Class four or grossly polluted.
“The results are quite disturbing, with the water quality of the River Offin at Dunkwa, for instance, reducing from 57.8 (Class 2 or fairly good) in 2010 to 49 (Class 3 or poor) in 2011, signifying a drop of 8.8 in quality. River Pra at Twifo Praso: the deterioration of water quality was even worse, dropping by 9.9 from 58.9 (Class 2 or fairly good) in 2010 to 49 (Class 3 or poor) in 2011.
“BiremRiver at Osino… dropped in quality [in one year] by 5.6: from 56.8 in 2010 to 51.2 in 2011…. It is said that “water is life,” and rightly so, as the River Offin, in the past, was a source of life as communities along the river drank directly from it. But with its heavy pollution now, life in the River Offin (including fish, and as a source of drinking water) is dead. [Galamsey] miners have descended into the river with excavators and other equipment, digging for gold from the bed of the water body…The use of mercury and other chemicals was even more serious because fishes in the rivers got contaminated and people who ate such fishes [are] at risk of death.”
Prof, I don’t need to burden you with other quotations (I assure you that if you Google “galamsey,” you will be staggered by the quantum of articles you will see. Currently, they number 422,000!)
Yes, galamsey exists; galamsey is dangerous because it is threatening the very survival of our communities. The question is: why has nothing been done seriously to stop it? What can be done about it NOW?
Prof, pardon me, but I think your first duty, on assuming office, should be to present a Bill to Parliament, spelling out measures the government intends to take to eradicate galamsey for good.
What? Do I mean another piece of legislation when our statute book is littered with laws that we do not enforce and which have become, in some cases, what someone calls ”mere suggestions”?
Prof, the reason why I am recommending the legislative route is that it will kill two birds with one stone: it will consolidate and lay down the existing laws regarding the destruction of forests and water-bodies, while, at the same time, empowering local communities to embark on supplementary action themselves to prevent the destruction of their forests and water-bodies.
New legislation, if it is first presented to the public for wide discussion – in the form of a ”Green Paper”—would serve as a means of educating the public on the national emergency that galamsey has become.
Whilst the draft Bill is being debated by the public, you could also use the opportunity to lobby Members of Parliament (MPs) to support the Bill. For as Mr. Afenyor-Markin, MP for Efutu, can tell you, there are some MPs who won’t go near galamsey with a barge-pole – although they know what a killer it is – for fear of losing votes!
In the second part of this article, I shall present to you, what I consider to be the most important elements that the provisions of the Bill should contain.
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