Galamsey: CCCFS urges government to declare state of emergency before it is too late

The Centre for Climate Change and Food Security (CCCFS), a Ghana-based non-government organisation (NGO) dedicated to promoting sustainable development, is the latest to add its voice to calls for the government to declare a state of emergency as part of effort to halt the wanton destruction of the environment and water bodies by illegal miners.It says Ghana is teetering into ecological catastrophe that will have dire consequences for the socioeconomic well-being of Ghana and Ghanaians with the alarming rate of water pollution and land degradation.A press release issued by the organisation and coped to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said even though the problem has drenched deep, the situation can still be salvaged if immediate and decisive steps, influenced solely by a national rather than political interests, are taken to stop the monstrosity.'Already, we have seen signs of a bigger problem to come - babies being born with strange deformities, water bodies drying up, forest reserves being permanently l ost, soil and water bodies being poisoned with heavy metals,' the statement read.It also urged civil society organisations to mobilise themselves into strong voices and demand from politicians to openly condemn galamsey without equivocation.They must wage a relentless and potent war on the government until it acts swiftly and decisively on the matter.The statement also called on international organisations to hold the government accountable for its lukewarm handling of the menace.According to the CCCFS, those involved in galamsey, under the pretext of unemployment should note that the things they are destroying for gold are irreplaceable and that no amount of earnings can replace water, soil, air, and food.'We implore the youth to turn to other ventures that are more sustainable for income and desist from engaging in galamsey which is nothing but a ticking time bomb,' it cautioned.Anymore dillydallying will exacerbate the already dire situation and fast track our irreversible acceleration to doom. The situation on our hand is existential, and one minute more delay could be the tipping point, the statement concluded.Source: Ghana News Agency