The question we pose on our lead news item today must be the question that is plaguing all well-meaninng
Ghanaians; who will bring the canker of illegal mining to an end?
Today, millions of Ghanaians are plagued with water shortage and high cost of food because rivers are water bodies
have been destroyed to unprecedented levels, but listening to all the politicians across board, it is all too clear that
none of them is able or willing to condemn the practice of illegal mining, much less confront thee malaise frontally.
We are watching as water, agriculture, and as is emerging, businesses collapse as a coinsequence of the unmitigated
rape of our environment.
Two companies which are threatened are AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine and Gold Fields Ghana Limited,
leading players in Ghana’s mining industry. They have bemoaned the growing threats of illegal mining activities on
their investments and operations.
The two companies said the increasing activities of illegal miners on their concessions called for a collective action
to protect their operations, vital assets and environment.
The companies are also alarmed about the pollution of water bodies close to their concessions and called for stricter
law enforcement and clearer communication about their contributions to national development.
The concerns came to light when members of the Journalists for Business Advocacy visited the mines during a
media engagement organized with the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
Acting Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine, Abraham Osei Badu, highlighted the negative
effects of illegal mining activities, particularly the contamination of local water sources.
“One of the main issues is the contamination of streams around the mine’s concession. We have always kept our
streams clean, but unfortunately, some of them are being tampered with from sources far from our operations,
leading to contamination that eventually flows through our concession,” Mr Osei Badu explained.
The Daily Searchlight continues to repeat that what is happening to Ghana’s environment is criminal. But we are at
our wit’s end as to how leadership in Ghana can be gingered to do what is necessary, before catastrophe befalls the
nation.
Whilst we are not prepared to give up, we believe that the only way we would see any attempt to address illegal
mining, is if the two leading political parties were to face punishment at the polls, which we make them sit up.
Ghanaians have a duty to take their fate in their own hands, and the only way to do this is by punishing the New
Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the polls.
(Editorial of the Daily Searchlight of 2 nd October, 2024).
