By Samuel Akumatey
Ho, Oct. 07, GNA – Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation has called for a united front in dealing with galamsey, saying Ghana presently is in a state of anxiety over destructive mining practices that have spiralled out of control
The Minister was opening the 35th MOLE Conference in Ho on Monday, and in an emotional tone said the nation risked earning an indelible stain of destructive greed that would traverse generations if the present spate of illegal mining was not addressed.
She disagreed with attempts to politicise the situation and insisted that all must work together in identifying and pursuing an end to the menace.
“We must all acknowledge that we are in a state that is almost at a national disaster if we don’t come together in unity to develop a holistic solution to the illegal mining menace staring us all in our faces,” she said.
“This is not time for blame games. This is the time when we all as stakeholders from all facets of society including the government itself, the opposition and all other political parties, civil society organisations and traditional authority, religious groups among others come together to develop a solution and devoid of politics to address this national problem.”
The Minister went on to say that “posterity will not be kind to us if we fail to take a unified approach to save our water bodies and forest reserves.
“Posterity will not differentiate between this generation or the basis of what political party one belongs to posterity will only remember us as a generation of people who out of greed and out of our unkind urge to pursue our parochial interest, fail to find a common ground to address this existential threat.”
Madam Alhassan called for prompt action in bringing to an end mining activities in water bodies which she again said required a united effort.
“The opportunity for us to chart a different course is now, and we must all come together and act for our own collective good. We are all in this together and it is not about politics. The fight now is against mining in our water bodies, and we need the support of each one,” she stated.
This MOLE Conference, an annual gathering of stakeholders in the WASH sector, is organised by the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), and is this year being held on the theme “Looking Back on SDG Six Implementation in Ghana: Progress, Challenges and the Way Forward”.
Togbe Tepre Hodo, the President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs, chaired the opening event and appealed for national concern over the issue.
“This is about us as Ghanaians,” he said.
“We are hearing stories about birth deformities. Let us take these matters seriously as Ghanaians and work to liberate our society. Let us remain as a nation and fight this menace,” the traditional ruler added.
GNA