The failure to adequately confront illegal mining and its concomitant devastation must be shared by the entire population, not just the government.
Mr. Kwame Gyan, a law instructor, and practitioner maintain that the failure is a communal one, explaining that everyone has a duty to play in ensuring the protection of the country and its resources.
He believes that assigning blame to one government or the other is unnecessary.
Mr Gyan stated on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show that Ghanaians should focus on the effects of the current crisis and how it may be addressed once and for all.
He insisted that the threat would continue to resurface despite government fights after government conflicts.
“The fight against illegal mining (galamsey) is a collective fight. What we are all calling a failure is a collective failure. We shouldn’t blame anybody. So if you sit here today and say it is the current government that has failed in the fight, I will not agree.
“We Ghanaians, any time we fall, love to concentrate on where we have fallen instead of concentrating on where we slipped and fell.
“So, we should not look at just what we are seeing today and ascribe responsibility that it is just this current government that has not been able to deal with galamsey or illegal mining,” he insisted
The government’s anti-galamsey tactics and strategies have been criticized, with many questioning the government’s commitment to ridding the country of the threat.
Last week, Asantehene attacked the Akufo-Addo administration, claiming that the much-touted conflict is based on lies.
According to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the war would be a charade until the individuals responsible for the illicit mining epidemic, notably financiers, are discovered.
“Are they saying they don’t know those behind galamsey in Ghana? The gold ends up being sold abroad. So who is behind the sale of gold abroad? Is it not the financier? How come he is not arrested?”
Mr. Gyan, on the other hand, believes that everyone has a responsibility to play in putting an end to the threat.
