Galamsey: When the last fish and crop die, will we eat the money?

“Auntie, look at the water! Why does it look like tea?”

That was the innocent question my six-year-old niece, Adepa, asked as we passed the Ayensu River at Mankrong Junction in the Central Region during a family trip last Christmas.

We were travelling from Kasoa towards Gomoa Wonderland and had deliberately chosen the Bawjiase road because my nieces, who have lived all their lives in the capital, rarely get to experience the greenery and natural landscapes outside the city.

But as soon as we got to Mankrong Junction, Adepa noticed something that perhaps many of us have become accustomed to seeing. The water was brown and murky.

She looked at me and asked again: “Why does it not look blue like what we see in cartoons or even as clear as we see in the American and Nigerian movies we watch?”

I had to tell her the truth. “Adepa, this is where we are now as a country because of illegal mining.”

Then came a series of questions that has stayed with me. Her nine-year-old sister, Ayeyi, asked: “Is the colour going to return to normal? Are all the fishes in the river still alive? How will they see when they swim?”

I had no answer. Not because I did not want to answer her, but because I genuinely did not know whether we can reverse the extent of the damage we have caused.

Two children, aged six and nine, were asking questions about the consequences of a problem that adults have struggled to solve for years. And that made me wonder: What will the Ayensu River look like when Adepa is 16 and Ayeyi is 19?

Will the water have recovered? Will there be fishes in it? Will the surrounding land remain fertile? Or will their generation inherit a Ghana where clean rivers, fertile farmlands and healthy forests are things they only read about in books?

How did we get here?

When are we going to stop and look back at the damage we are causing? I say we deliberately because the destruction caused by illegal mining (galamsey) cannot be blamed solely on the people operating excavators and washing gold in our rivers.

It involves a chain of stakeholders; politicians, security agencies, financiers, traditional authorities and ordinary citizens who knowingly participate in or benefit from the trade.

Civil society organisations have spoken. The media has consistently reported on the destruction. Communities like Atronie and Berekum in the Bono Region have raised concerns. Turbidity levels look impressive on paper, but the reality on the ground tells a different story. The problem persists.

A report by The Informer newspaper on Wednesday, August 19, said the Fisheries Ministry had raised concerns about galamsey threatening fish farming.

There are also growing concerns about the threat galamsey is posing to environmentally sensitive areas, including Cape Three Points in the Western Region. It is increasingly difficult to find a major water body in Ghana that has not been affected by illegal mining. And that should concern every Ghanaian.

We cannot eat gold

Gold is valuable. It brings revenue and foreign exchange. People depend on mining for their livelihoods, but at what point do we ask whether the short-term financial gains are worth the long-term destruction?

Because we cannot eat gold. We cannot drink gold. We cannot irrigate our farms with gold. We cannot feed our children with gold. So when the last fish dies and the last fertile piece of land is destroyed, what exactly will the money made from the gold do for us?

Will we import more fish? Will we import more food? Will we import drinking water? Will we spend the wealth generated from our natural resources trying to restore the very environment we destroyed to obtain that wealth?

The contradiction

Recently, a video circulated showing women working at a galamsey site while singing Church of Pentecost songs. You could tell that these are members because some of the songs they were singing were exclusive and not so common outside the church. As a member of the church, I was disheartened.

The Church has embarked on an Environmental Care Campaigns and has repeatedly encouraged members to protect God’s creation. Yet here were women apparently participating in activities that contribute to environmental destruction while singing songs of praise.

The contradiction is difficult to ignore and it is not only about the Church. It is about all of us. What do our actions say about the values we claim to hold?

We have heard allegations that interests across the political divide may be benefiting from illegal mining. Whether those specific allegations are true, time will tell. However, the persistence of galamsey raises an uncomfortable question: who benefits from the system and why has it been so difficult to dismantle?

We all need fixing

There was a time when the popular demand was for politicians to fix the country. Then politicians and others reminded citizens that we also needed to fix ourselves. I believe we have reached the point where everyone needs fixing.

Our institutions, enforcement mechanisms, politics need fixing. But perhaps most importantly, our mentality needs fixing. We must confront the greed that makes immediate financial gain more important than the survival of our rivers, forests and farmlands.

We must stop celebrating wealth without asking how it was acquired. And authorities must be willing to enforce the law regardless of who is involved. If the law applies to one person, it must apply to everyone.

What will we leave behind?

I keep thinking about Ayeyi’s question. “Is the colour going to return to normal?” I wish I could confidently tell her yes. I wish I could tell her that by the time she is 19, she will be able to stand beside the Ayensu River and see clear water flowing through it.

I wish I could tell her that the fishes will still be there but I cannot make that promise. The responsibility lies with us, so when exactly are we going to stop?

When the last fish dies? When the last river is poisoned? When the last tree is destroyed? When the last fertile piece of land is gone? Or when our children can only see clean rivers in history books?

Nobody is saying mining is inherently bad, but what happened to following the laws and mining responsibly?

We still have an opportunity to change the story, because when the last fish dies and the last crop fails, will we eat the gold? Or we will eat the money we made from destroying our land? Think about it!

 

The writer – Juliana Odame Asare is a journalist with Citi FM and Channel One TV