The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and various health unions and associations have called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to impose an immediate ban on all forms of small-scale mining in the country, whether legal or illegal.
This plea follows the escalating damage being done to Ghana’s forests and water bodies, as well as the severe health and environmental risks posed by illegal mining, commonly known as “galamsey.”
In addition to the GMA, the groups pushing for this ban include the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA), and the Health Services Workers Union of Ghana (TUC). Other organizations joining this appeal are the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU), the Mortuary Workers’ Association of Ghana (MOWAG), the Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anesthetists (GACRA), the Health Accounting Staff Association (HASAG), and the Ghana Physician Assistants Association (GPAA).
In a statement released on Friday, these groups cautioned that the nation is on the verge of an environmental disaster that could have devastating consequences for the health and future of its people.
The statement reads: “We, as Associations and Trade Unions in the health sector holding collective bargaining certificates on behalf of health sector employees, make the following demands: The President of the Republic of Ghana should direct a total ban on small-scale mining operations with immediate effect, whether legal or illegal.”
They also urged the government to bolster regulatory enforcement, saying, “The government of Ghana should strengthen regulatory enforcement by resourcing the relevant security agencies to clamp down on all persons who flout this directive and prosecute them expeditiously.”
Furthermore, the statement called for political accountability, demanding that “all political parties should make a public declaration and publish a duly signed document on their commitment to fight illegal and unethical mining activities in Ghana.”
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