I must confess, I am amazed by the seriousness the entire nation, led by the political, traditional and religious leadership, as well as non-governmental organisations, has attached to the fight against the “Galamsey menace” in our country.
That alone goes to prove that if we set our minds to the fight against the cancer of the society, the nation can be saved. In my contribution in the Daily Graphic on the corruption within the judiciary, October 9, 2015, I pointed this out – ‘If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land” [2 Chronicles 7: 14].
Is galamsey the problem or lawlessness?
The question is whether we have identified the real problem prompting the nation to suddenly wake up to find a solution. No, I do not think so. I may be the only stranger in this country. As far as I am concerned, the problem is not galamsey. There is no doubt galamsey is a serious problem confronting the nation, resulting in the destruction of water bodies and the environment. However, the reality is that galamsey is just one of the outcomes of the major problem confronting this country to which we seem to be oblivious of.
The real problem facing the nation is lawlessness. It is so surprising that we seem ignorant or simply unwilling to confront it. If we do not take the bull by the horns, there will be many more galamseys confronting us.
The level of lawlessness must be analysed and understood in the right context. Over the years, we have entertained, nurtured and groomed indiscipline and lawlessness to the level that we are no longer conscious of our behaviour. The majority of the population who should be role models and opinion leaders in the nation are products of past practices of lawlessness and lack of accountability. Many have risen to prominence in all sectors of the nation, whether in the political arena, judiciary, traditional leadership, academic positions, the religious order, etc. as a result of the absence of accountability and the rule of law. These are the ones who over the years presided over all aspects of nation building within the executive, legislature, judiciary, educational sector, control of national coffers, traditional rule and spiritual direction. In the process, we have unconsciously condoned and accepted wrongful types of conduct as normal. The galamsey we are fighting falls within that lifestyle.
I have on a number of occasions raised concern over this behaviour in our country. In the January 21 and 23 issues of the Daily Graphic under the headline, “Exorcising the culture of impunity in Ghana,” I observed: “There seems to be a trend that has gained notoriety in this country, suggesting that persons and institutions are not subject to accountability. This has resulted in a peculiar characteristic exhibited by Ghanaians, behaving as if they are a law unto themselves. This is manifested in words, as well as in conduct. Any serious critical observer will notice this kind of negative behaviour at almost every level of this country. We find this in the way we drive, how we maintain our environment, how we plan our villages, towns and cities, how we provide services, etc. The list is endless.” During the aftermath of the Anas’ exposure of corruption within the Judiciary, I again touched on lawlessness as the root cause of the corruption in the country in a piece in the Daily Graphic of October 9, 2015, “A reflection on corruption within the Judiciary.” I continued in the May 11 and 16 editions of the Daily Graphic with the headline, “A Glimmer of hope: Some lessons from the Nkandla case of South Africa,” by suggesting that we learn from the bold actions taken by the Public Protector and the Constitutional Court in holding leaders accountable for their actions.
Condoning lawlessness
If we give a broader definition to galamsey to cover all kinds of illegality or wrongful conduct, then we shall be on the right path in confronting the colossus bestriding the nation. In that sense, we can justifiably argue that there is galamsey in the way we drive, galamsey in our waste disposal, galamsey in the planning of our towns and cities, galamsey in all sectors of the nation. No one can convince me that motor riders are not conducting galamsey on our roads. Neither can I be persuaded that illegal buildings and squatters are not forms of galamsey. We are galamseying in all spheres of our lives and we seem not to be conscious of this factual reality. It is inconceivable for a police officer directing traffic at an intersection to watch and allow motor riders to ride past in all directions. For such an officer to condone that kind of behaviour is a good example of how we accept and condone lawlessness.
The simple fact is that we are a nation where laws do not mean anything. However, if we are serious about nation building then we should recognise that “lawlessness” is our number one problem and should be the focal point for our efforts to start our nation building. I have repeatedly told my students that the day the laws of this nation will work in the country, 75 per cent of our problems will be solved overnight.
Galamsey is simply a product of lawlessness that has engulfed the nation over the years, the fact that we allow people to get away with everything. Let us enforce the laws and galamsey in all forms will be a thing of the past. If I may borrow from Milton in Paradise Lost, I would say, “Destruction, destruction with destruction.” In other words, “We must destroy the destructible elements of destruction.” It is lawlessness that is destroying this nation and it is that element that we must destroy to save this nation.
The writer is Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA)
Source: Kwame Frimpong
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Very interesting piece. Politicians have contributed to this impunity and until they stop interfering in Justice delivery, we will be fighting a loosing battle
You are very right in your title and understanding that it is lawlessness and we crack the whip and let the law courts deal with the unscrupulous individuals and the foreigners who choose not to obey our laws in the law books and Mining and minerals act. I have worked in Obuasi for 32 years and Obuasi had run continuously for 120 years without stopping and we mistakenly let any of our tailing slips during heavy rainfall we are stop from operating until we rectify the problem and it has happened several times whilst I was working there. Those who chose not to obey the laws by destroying our water bodies are those suffering now.
Massa; I could'nt agree more with this piece Ghana is a DOOMED nation; we lawless notion full of GREDDY individual all scrambling in in a cesspit of of own foul poooh ; we are a nation who do not just respect nature ; we think nature needs Ghana but the opposite is the case nature does not need Ghana ; we do not respect our forests and rivers and do not believe in our customs and do not revere rivers rivers anymore ;the Chiefs who are custodians of our rivers are just GREEDY and seriously involved in this EVIL trade of galamasey ; we rather still millions to build big houses and build cesspit in our homes instead of building proper sweage drainage systems to take our poooh away ; go to UK; Germany; Holland ; US; the far east japan ; China and India and see how they worship their rivers with yearly customary rites to cleanse their rivers ;even in the UK every year some of rituals are perfomed on the thames Rivers ; go to Holland and see how they keep and manage their rivers but in Ghana we prefer to destroy our rivers and forest because we have been fulled by the Bible and believe Jesus will give us properity without working for it ; if you still from the state you accorded the front seat in the church ; if you are fraudester you are respected in society ;what we forget is that GOd or the CREATOR exist in every creation and there is a good reason for this gold on our land therefore if we want it we can take it without destroying the land and rivers with chemicals ; today we do not need a nuclear bomb to kill Ghanaians ; we are killing ourselves gradually thanks to some Greedy Ghanaians politicians the most evil occupation in Ghana today and the Chinese destroying our forests and polluting our rivers with mercury and cynide ; the sad part is that these greedy politicians think the effects of the greedy way will not catch up with them ; THEY ARE WRONG !!!!!!
Just so, just so. The Chinese Ambassador told us to our face that the chinese are not the problem, we are.
This is an excellent piece. I will add to your assertions that our institutions are weak, resulting to the lawlessness.One question to ask is "who are our thinkers and advisers"? and what trend are they leading us through their advice? Its a bizarre situation that needs to be arrested or we live an unending noisy Ghana.
We have heard about all the frontline galamseyers but never about those behind this menace. Would be interesting to see if any of the big names that have been mentioned get looked into. I suspect that no one will touch the Okyemhene for instance
Thank you Sir! Maybe our laws themselves were actually made lawlessly and that makes the situation worse. hhhmmm, God help us
The laws doesn't work. And politicans 90 % are atrofooooo.