The Ghana Federation of Labour has made an urgent appeal to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, calling for immediate and decisive action to tackle the worsening issue of illegal small-scale mining, known as galamsey. The Federation warns that without swift intervention, the country risks facing a serious socio-economic and environmental crisis.
In an interview on *The Point of View* (PoV), Kenneth Koomson, Deputy Secretary General of the Federation, underscored the destructive effects of galamsey on the environment. He pointed to deforestation, water contamination, and land degradation as major consequences of these illegal activities. Koomson noted that the damage goes beyond environmental concerns, as it directly threatens the livelihoods of local communities, public health, and the long-term economic stability of the country.
Koomson stressed the urgency of implementing strong, comprehensive measures to combat the galamsey crisis. “We considered that this is the appropriate time for us to come together to call on the president to do that which is just, that which is constitutional, that which is honest and that which saves Ghana from imminent collapse, destruction, [and] decimation of the people who live here, and accordingly also plunge us into civil disorder,” he urged.
He further warned that without drastic and immediate action, the nation’s future could be in jeopardy. “If we don’t take drastic or quick measures, swift action to get into this argument, get government, [the] president to act quickly, a time is coming when we will lose all the lands, our livelihood, our survival—everything that the Ghanaian lives for would have been destroyed by this galamsey,” Koomson concluded.
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