The Fix The Country Movement has demanded that the John Mahama-led government declare a State of Emergency on galamsey and repeal Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462.
According to the movement, the Galamsey menace needs to be tackled head-on.
Speaking on Channel One, Edward Tuttor, a member of the movement, stated, “Galamsey needs to be tackled head-on. We don’t need to massage the issues. We don’t need to pretend as if we don’t know what is going on”.
“I was happy when the president… admitted publicly that galamsey is now a national emergency. If it is a national emergency, we are saying that the president should declare a state of emergency,” he insisted.
Edward Tuttor added, “The problem of galamsey is a clear-cut problem and the solution is clear-cut: repeal LI 2462 and declare a state of emergency”.
Also, the Fix The Country Movement threatened to declare a state of emergency if the government failed to act.
A convener expressed disappointment in the government’s response to the crisis, tagging it as weak.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, a convener of the Movement, George Aggrey stated, ““If the government says it is not time to declare a state of emergency on the galamsey, to be honest, I think it is not a good statement to make”.
“I don’t know to what extent the government wants it to get to before they see it as a state of emergency. So for me and the teeming youth that joined the protest today, what we are saying is: if the government fails to declare a state of emergency on this issue, then the youth of the land—we will declare a state of emergency”, he added.
The Fix The Country Movement protest coincided with Ghana’s Founder’s Day, with protesters holding placards and banners calling on President Mahama to defend the country’s land, water bodies, and future.
However, an aide to former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has said he does not support a State of Emergency.
According to Miracles Aboagye, a state of emergency would not necessarily end the menace.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Miracles Aboagye stated, “Again, I keep saying politics is what is causing the problem for us in the fight against galamsey. I have never supported the call for a state of emergency. I didn’t support it when we were in government, and I don’t support it even now because I don’t think that is the solution”.
“I never supported the ban on small-scale mining… I didn’t support it then, and I won’t support it now, and my reason is simple. We implemented the ban on small-scale mining for two years; it worked, and we saw the water bodies clearing up. Then, when we lifted it, despite all the initiatives the government put in place, we still saw galamsey come back. We can’t go and implement a ban when it has already been done before,” he explained.
Miracles Aboagye added that community involvement is needed rather than drastic political measures.
He added, “Neither do I think a state of emergency may necessarily stop the situation. I think that in addition to all the law enforcement that the government is doing now, which all other governments have been doing, they should simply move in and invest in social mindset reorientation.
“What I saw with my eyes and what I have seen with my eyes today in Dunkwa Offin and Twifo Praso—if we can expose the community to the dire effect and draw their attention to how this thing is destroying their lives, in addition to enforcement, they would help to be able to succeed at it,” Miracles Aboagye added.