Environmental group, Eco-Conscious Citizens has called on Ghanaians to rise up and demand an end to the destructive practice of illegal mining, commonly known as "galamsey." The group, which includes environmental activists, community leaders, and concerned citizens, emphasised the urgent need for collective action to protect Ghana's natural resources and ensure a sustainable future.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, the Coordinator for Eco-Conscious Citizens, Awula Serwaa highlighted the severe environmental degradation caused by galamsey activities. "We face an existential threat of catastrophic proportions.
The writing has been on the wall…Things have gone from bad to worse.
So, we have to be absolutely clear that we face an existential threat.
The illegal mining is not going on in the darkness, it is going on with impunity in broad daylight and the perception is that the firefighters who are supposed to solve the problem are the arsonists and that is why the fight is not going anywhere." "… We are being poisoned, people are losing their livelihood, cocoa farmers, fishermen.
We've had maternal deaths and deformed babies.
What else do we want to see? "…I think the time has come for Ghanaians to be angry enough to say you cannot poison us, you know what to do and until you do what you should do, we will lay down our tools," she stated.