President Akufo-Addo this week met with Chiefs, traditional rulers and all stakeholders in the fight against Galamsey.
The meeting primarily is to take the galamsey fight a notch higher even as the country strives to find a lasting solution to this national problem.
The President is widely quoted as having said that he his committed to fighting the menace but certainly not without the help of all the relevant stakeholders.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “it is obvious that, if we are to win the fight, you and I have to take the lead to collaborate closely to do so. That is why I am here today.”
He noted that eighty percent (80%) of the lands in Ghana continue to be under the custody of Chiefs, whereas the remainder of twenty percent (20%) is held in trust by the President.
What this means, he said, is that, ultimately, the welfare of the state of the lands is the joint responsibility of Chiefs and the President, although, by statute, the minerals in the soil belong to the President in trust for the people.
“Historically, we discharged that responsibility well. Even though, for centuries, we have been a mining nation, mining did not pose a threat to the health of our environment and water bodies. The rules that you put in place for mining ensured that the sanctity of our lands remained intact, and our water bodies remained unpolluted. Tragically, in the modern era, that is no longer the case. And that is why I have come to you today to talk about how, together, we can repair this dramatic situation,” he said.
For us it is about time all hands will be on deck to fight this evil together.
Many have held that evil continue to thrive in the society because the people who have to act or speak failed to do so.
From all indications, it is as though, Ghana is virtually on its knees and have come to a cal du sac.
Ghana is sofocating for help- the environment is being destroyed, water bodies desecrated, wildlife in these forests are being extinct, topography of the lands are being altered among others.
Today even when it drizzles, mining communities flood due to the devastating effects of galamsey on their lands.
The President is right on point for courting our support to face this challenge.
We must just say something and be on the lookout for the actions that undermine our very existence and that of posterity as a people.
We cannot agree more with the President that there is the need to rally behind the flag as our token to support nation building.
Our interests and what we stand to gain must not be our focus now but rather the generation yet unborn.
The fight will be won if we all play our part and play it well… without any parochial interests.
Source mypublisher24.com
