A former Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) president, Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, has urged the media to prioritise the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, given the devastating impact the canker is having on the environment.

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The Veteran Broadcaster made the call at an event held in commemoration of the International Press Freedom Day held on May 3, 2023, at the Ghana International Press Centre (GiPC) in Accra.

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During her speech, she called on all media houses to join in the fight and ensure the menace is significantly brought to a halt.

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“I believe all media houses should continually highlight the challenges until the menace is brought to a minimum,” she said.

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This comes on the back of recent revelations about how Ghana’s mining sector is being exploited.

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First, was a documentary aired by Al Jazeera dubbed “Gold Mafia.” It was revealed in this piece that gold worth $40 million is smuggled out of the country annually.

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Second is the leaked Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) report authored by Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng that exposed a number of government officials as either being involved in galamsey or interfered in the galamsey fight during his tenure as chairman of the defunct Committee.

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Madam Afenyi-Dadzie during the gathering acknowledged the media’s important role in highlighting the dangers. She, however, bemoaned how the fight has become tough due to ‘powerful’ figures engaged in the menace. That notwithstanding, she urged the media not to give up the fight.

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“The media played and is still playing its role in raising concern about the dangers of galamsey which threatens our existence as a people. Subsequent developments have shown that the beneficiaries of galamsey are very powerful and will not easily give up irrespective of the danger to our water bodies and environment.

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“On this occasion, it is relevant to remind ourselves that based on the happenings we know now, the agenda to stop galamsey should be treated as a major existential threat that should go beyond the coalition that first highlighted the menace,” she added.

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Galamsey’s impact on the environment

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Illegal Mining also known as galamsey over the years has had a devastating impact on communities where such activities go on. It is also destroying the country’s virgin forests and water bodies.

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At a press briefing held at the Information Ministry on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, John M. Allotey, stated that thirty-four (34) of the country’s forest reserves are under threat to illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

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Majority of these reserves under threat, he said, were in the Ashanti region.

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He noted that out of the 16 regions of the country, seven have been experiencing some form of illegal mining.

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“Out of this, thirty-four reserves have been affected. These are areas where you have significant illegal mining. The total area that has been mapped is about 4, 722 hectares of forest lands have been impacted. But then this is only the surface. Some of these impacts result in very deep holes and they excavate a lot of materials that will also impact on the forest,” he said.

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