Former Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, Paul Asare Ansah, has called on President John Dramani Mahama to immediately declare a State of Emergency to gain extraordinary powers to combat the illegal mining menace, also known as Galamsey.
According to him, he made a similar appeal to former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, but it proved futile.
“I’m excited to note that it has become a clarion call since 2024 with every concerned citizen calling for the declaration of a State of Emergency over Galamsey. If I were the President of Ghana I would have declared a State of Emergency over the fight to stop Galamsey.”
Paul Asare Ansah, the 2020 parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Asuogyaman Constituency in the Eastern Region, further explained that declaring a State of Emergency would give the president absolute powers beyond those granted by the 1992 Constitution to fight Galamsey and save future generations from unforeseen tragedies caused by environmental threats.
He mentioned countries like Nigeria, where militants attacked pipelines in Rivers State and the President declared a State of Emergency. He also referenced blackouts in Spain, after which their leadership declared a State of Emergency.
He noted that the President of America, Donald Trump, also declared a State of Emergency when he realized that immigrants had taken over their country.
“The steps that were taken by these leaders don’t form part of their constitution, and their laws also don’t permit that, but they did that to prevent their countries from going into a ditch, and Ghana can emulate,” he opined.
Paul Ansah urged President Mahama to declare Ghana a nation under existential threat from:
The destruction of our water bodies and forest reserves by Ghanaians and their foreign collaborators.
Water and food poisoning with mercury, cyanide, and other chemicals from Galamsey.
Sickness, diseases, and deformities of newborn babies caused by Galamsey pollution.
Destruction of our main cash crop – cocoa.
Mr. Ansah believed that should the president comply with this directive and implement proper measures and policies, eradicating Galamsey is feasible, as force is sometimes needed to find lasting solutions.
He then urged President Mahama to order the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to enforce the ban and remove the usually armed environmental terrorists from the country’s water bodies and forest reserves.
He also stated that the President should order the CDS to recover and restore the integrity of Ghana’s water bodies and forest reserves within one year and sustain it thereafter.
Finally, he called for the approval of a national afforestation and restoration budget to support the CDS’s operations.
By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.
Source// Obohnewsonline.com.
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