[ 2017-03-29 ]

Baba Jamal ,former Member of Parliament for Akwatia

You stop galamsey, you create a bigger problem – Baba Jamal
Former Member of Parliament for Akwatia, a
constituency notorious for illegal mining, Baba
Jamal, says the chorus against illegal mining is
not well informed.

He told Joy FM's Super Morning Show if care is not
taken, stopping illegal mining known in local
parlance as galamsey, could create more problems
for the country.

There is a groundswell of anger against galamsey
in the wake of a bleak projection by the Water
Research Institute that Ghana could be importing
water in the not too distant future.

Already, some river bodies that served as the
source of water for treatment plants have either
dried up or been badly polluted. The prospects of
Ghana facing a water crisis and the wanton
destruction of the country’s vegetative cover by
Ghanaians and their Chinese collaborators
burrowing under the earth’s surface in search of
gold has jolted many Ghanaians into a frenzy.

There have been loud calls on government,
particularly the Minister for Lands and Natural
Resources, John Peter Amewu, to clamp down on the
illegal activities of galamseyers.

But Baba Jamal who is also a former Deputy
Minister for Employment and Labour Relations says
stopping galamsey without a detailed plan on how
to cater for the needs of the teeming youth could
create bigger problems for the country.

He said the problems caused by illegal mining are
serious. “I am against galamsey,” he
maintained.

But an immediate stop to the business of galamsey
is not the answer, he insisted.

Baba Jamal said the legal regime for small-scale
mining which is legal must be addressed.

“We need to regularise illegal mining and
protect the environment,” Baba Jamal said. The
use of gun-toting security men to chase illegal
miners as part of efforts to stop galamsey, he
believes, is simply unworkable and unsustainable.
Licensing of small-scale mining should be
decentralised to remove the tired bureaucratic
inertia which forces miners to mine without
licenses. He said people who apply for mining
licenses have to travel to Accra and in almost all
cases, it takes an unreasonably long time and
laborious processes to obtain a license. Unable to
wait for the long processes before being licensed,
people start mining.

District Assemblies, Baba Jamal, said must be
involved in the licensing processes and must be
empowered to revoke the license of any company
that is violating the mining regulations and
polluting the environment.

Until that is done, he said, using the security
agencies to fight galamsey simply won't work.

Freelance journalist, Edem Srem, told Joy FM’s
Super Morning Show that it is practically
impossible to rely on creating job opportunities
as a means of stopping galamsey.

He said galamsey is so lucrative that no other
economic activity can entice those involved in
galamsey to voluntarily stop their destructive
activities. He said three million Ghanaians cannot
be allowed to destroy water sources and the
environment and create problems for 22 million
others.

Source - Myjoyonline.com

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