A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Global Agenda Services (GAS) Ghana, has stated that it has solution to the fight against illegal mining in the country.
Illegal mining popularly referred to as ‘galamsey’ has continued to plague a developing country like Ghana for years and government of the day, has pledged its willingness to fight the menace till it wins.
GAS Ghana evolves as a result of the war government wages against the menace through the Ghanaian media.
However, addressing a Press Conference in Accra Monday, the Executive Director of GAS Ghana, Ing. Evans Arthur said the issue of galamsey and even small scale mining in the country needs a more technical approach in making solution than the present social approach of awareness.
He said in providing the solution, the problem associated with the menace has to be rescued a scientific approach in a research design prepared in proposal by the NGO.
He recalled that though government was fighting illegal mining, it had also frozen licences of small scale miners whose activities seemed to be in congruence with galamsey and the NGO was ready to provide the solution within the six-month period which government had asked small scale miners to stay away from alluvial mining in the country.
According to him, the NGO was ready to partner government through both the Ministry of Lands & Natural Resources and the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation to the extent that while the NGO provided technical support, government would provide financial support for a desired results within six months.
Ing. Arthur said GAS Ghana had developed a four thematic area approach in solving the galamsey menace in the country.
The solution of what he called “Environmental Rescue”, he mentioned the four thematic areas as “Operation Living Waters”, “Operation Burying the Dig”, “Operation One Man, One Tree” and “Operation One District, One Mine”.
On Operation Living Waters, he explained that GAS Ghana when given the goahead would resort to immediate rescue of destroyed water bodies which would be the first exercise of environmental investment to invest in aquatic resources.
He said that approach would fall within an emergency exercise to restore all water bodies by treating rivers and dams polluted by the use of cyanide and mercury through activities of galamseyers from the base within 40 days.
On Operation Burying the Dig, he said that would be the second rescue exercise whereby destroyed vegations and farmlands would be restored of their natural elements and nutrients, stressing that the main purpose of the exercise was to restore vegetative properties of the country through technical process of land reclamation and private investment by government assistance.
For Operation One Man, One Tree, he explained that as the third rescue exercise, GAS Ghana would restore lost forestry by galamseyers and small scale miners and that every citizen in the country, would be compelled to plant a special tree that adds value to the land within a 40-day period.
The last approach GAS Ghana would resort to rescue the menace was the immediate preparation for New Lands Mines which he called “Operation One District, One Mine”, which sought to widening the mineral and mining sector of the country.
He added that would be an exercise that could usher into the practice of Sustainable Trig Mining (STM) which when adopted by government would be done in every district of the country.
Again, the exercise would be done across the country in all districts to examine the mineral deposits of every district in the country within 40 days.
He said GAS Ghana sought to appeal to the media to switch from awareness campaign to rescue campaign and associate with a solution-making crusade above normal assignment.
He called on the media to join hands with GAS Ghana, to work out from reality rather than everyday “normal story”.
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