The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has said that while the efforts made by the government so far to address the issue of illegal small-scale mining (Galamsey) are commendable, a lot more sustained and strategic interventions are needed to yield the desired impact Ghanaians expect.
UTAG said the establishment of more designated courts to expedite the prosecution of illegal miners, as contained in the government's roadmap, is yet to be seen.Similarly, they said, the signing of a national pact by Presidential Candidates of political parties in support of the fight against illegal mining (galamsey) in Ghana as per the government's roadmap is also yet to be realised.Thus, after reviewing the situation, we urge the government to take further decisive actions, including Expanding the task force's mandate to include forest reserves and farmlands would ensure a comprehensive approach to stopping the destruction, especially by illegal mining activities, Expediting parliamentary revocation of the L.I. 2462 to curb mining in forest reserves, commencing immediate prosecution of individuals arrested for engaging in illegal mining activities, Engaging with UTAG to discuss proposals on how to fight illegal mining while promoting responsible and sustainable mining for inclusive development.In addition, UTAG has offered to take the lead in developing the National Pact on the Fight Against Illegal Mining (Galamsey) with the Presidential Candidates in the upcoming 2024 elections and other stakeholders to commit towards this cause."This pact seeks a permanent solution to the mining and environmental crisis threatening our existence.
We have also prepared a Galamsey Response Pact with strategic recommendations to strengthen the fight against illegal mining, which will be shared with the government for consideration and action," a statement issued on Thursday, October 17 said.Below is their full statement…Following our decision on October 10th to embark on industrial action in protest against mining in waterbodies, forest reserves and farmlands, the National Executive Council (NEC) has actively engaged the media nationwide to advocate for government intervention and public awareness on this critical issue.
NEC met on October 16th to review the state of the strike action and update members on developments, key amongst which is the fact that all efforts by NEC to engage with the government to discuss UTAG proposals on how to effectively deal with the existential threat caused by irresponsible mining in waterbodies, forest reserves and farmlands have not yielded results.Specifically, as you may recall, the government announced several measures, including the commencement of processes to revoke the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves Regulations, 2022 (L.I. 2462)) and the deployment of additional military personnel to the field to halt illegal mining (galamsey).