By Muniratu Akweley Issah
Accra, Oct. 7, GNA – The Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana (DYMOG) has petitioned the Council of State to fulfil its constitutional role and advise the President to declare a state of emergency over the ongoing illegal mining menace.
The DYMOG, a Civil Society Organisation against illegal mining, popularly known as Galamsey, said the President must act in the interest of Ghanaians, as galamsey was no longer just an environmental issue but an existential threat to the citizenry.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, Mr Edward Seyram Tuttor, Executive Convenor of DYMOG, expressed deep disappointment in President John Dramani Mahama’s recent remarks suggesting that he had not received advice from the National Security Council to declare a state of emergency on galamsey.
The CSO, also want immediate dissolution of the National Security Council (NSC), accusing it of failing the nation and misleading the President on the urgent need to declare a state of emergency over the galamsey menace.
Mr. Tuttor described the President’s position as “very problematic,” arguing that the NSC is not constitutionally mandated to advise the President on such declarations. Rather, he said, the 1992 Constitution clearly outlines that such advice must come from the Council of State.
Citing Article 31 of the Constitution, Mr. Tuttor explained that the President may declare a state of emergency in accordance with the advice of the Council of State, and this proclamation must be in the gazette, saying, “This is not a matter of political rhetoric. The Constitution is clear, it is the Council of State, not the National Security Council, that advises the President on emergencies,” he stated.
Mr. Tuttor further criticized the composition and performance of the NSC, highlighting that the Council is chaired by the President and comprises appointees such as the Ministers of Defence, Finance, and National Security, as well as intelligence heads and the Chief of Defence Staff.
“All of them were appointed by the President, and yet they claim not to see the urgency, don’t they see the poisoned rivers, the mercury in our food, the devastated forests? Then they are not serving the President, and by extension, not serving the people of Ghana,” he added.
The DYMOG accused the Council of failing to gather and provide accurate intelligence on the environmental destruction caused by galamsey, despite their constitutional mandate.
“If our rivers are now brown and our food is full of lead and mercury, then the essential elements of life are under threat. This meets every constitutional criterion for a state of emergency,” Mr. Tuttor stressed.
Mr Albert Tetteh, Chief Executive Officer, Verbal Transformers, also a pressure group that supported the DYMOG, re-echoed and shared similar sentiments, describing galamsey as a “silent emergency” that was gradually poisoning Ghana’s future.
“We gave the President our mandate in trust. He must now act swiftly to protect the land, water, and people,” Mr Tetteh urged.
Mr Tetteh said the President had delayed in acting swiftly against the menace, which continued to destroy water bodies and farm lands to the detriment of the citizenry.
“All that we are saying is that, galamsey is an existential threat to the extent that we have lost our water bodies and many of our lands, our forest reserves, are in a state we can actually not speak about. We must preserve and protect what our forefathers left behind for the younger generations. We must not fail our younger generations yet to come,” he said.
The protest, led by DYMOG and supported by civil society groups, was demanding urgent and decisive action against illegal mining and accountability.
GNA
Edited by Christian Akorlie