The Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, has stressed that civil society organisations (CSOs) will ensure Ghana’s renewed fight against illegal mining does not fall into the cycle of failure witnessed in previous years.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, October 1, Dr Ashigbey said the upcoming meeting between CSOs and President John Mahama at the Jubilee House on Friday, October 3, offers a crucial opportunity to push for concrete action.
“We have been waiting for this invitation because the coalition had written to His Excellency, the President, and he had directed that we meet with the Lands Minister in the first instance. We know that the minister has since reported back to him, so we’re expecting this meeting,” Dr Ashigbey explained.
According to him, the stakes are too high for the country to repeat past errors in the fight against galamsey. He noted that while over 50 participants have been invited to the meeting—raising concerns about structure and focus—the coalition intends to make the most of the engagement.
“The only surprise we got was the fact that over 50 or so people have been invited, and so it is going to be a very large gathering. The agenda and format of the meeting have not been clearly spelt out, but we will take advantage of every opportunity to resolve this,” he said.
Dr Ashigbey emphasised that CSOs will not use the meeting to merely recount long-known challenges.
“We are not going into this meeting to go and articulate the problems. We know very clearly what the problems are, and we know His Excellency knows what the problems are,” he said.
Instead, the coalition’s focus will be to demand clarity from the President on what a successful anti-galamsey campaign would look like under his leadership.
“As we said in our last press release, we are going into this meeting asking His Excellency, the President, what his definition of success is—what he would classify as having successfully executed this particular fight,” he added.
Background
Illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, has wreaked havoc on Ghana’s environment, with rivers, farmlands, and forests bearing the brunt of destruction. Despite successive government interventions, the menace continues to threaten livelihoods, food security, and national development.
Friday’s meeting is expected to bring together civil society groups, government officials, and other stakeholders to chart a path toward sustainable solutions to the social and environmental crisis caused by galamsey.
Click the link Puretvonline.com | WhatsApp Channel to join the WhatsApp channel
GOT A STORY?
Contact/WhatsApp: +233243201960 or manuelnkansah33@gmail.com