President of the National Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, Rev. Fr. Nicholas Aazine, has criticised successive governments for failing to confront the menace of illegal mining (galamsey) with the seriousness it deserves.
Speaking in an interview on September 23, he said the fight against galamsey should not be viewed through partisan lenses but as a national crisis that governments continue to “massage” rather than decisively address.
“We thought something was happening, and then it was sealed off. Then a new government came, joined us in the same cry, and we hoped for change. But what we see now mirrors exactly what the previous government was doing,” he lamented.
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Rev. Fr. Aazine stressed that political rhetoric has not been matched with real results. “If things are not translated on the ground, and it’s all bookish and just in the news, people will continue to make noise,” he said.
His comments come after the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference on September 18 urged President John Mahama to immediately declare a state of emergency in areas devastated by galamsey. The bishops warned that the practice “ravages rivers and forests, poisons soil, endangers health, corrupts governance, erodes moral values, and destroys livelihoods,” describing it as “a national emergency requiring extraordinary action.”
Rev. Fr. Aazine revealed that he recently wrote an article arguing that governments only “massage” the galamsey crisis rather than confront it. “It’s not an NDC or NPP matter. Whoever comes into office massages the issue, and it’s very bad. We need to look at this seriously,” he said.
He welcomed the bishops’ call for a state of emergency, explaining that it could create space for a united national response. “Declaring a state of emergency would halt what is happening, so stakeholders can sit together and agree on concrete measures,” he suggested.
Story By: Afia Ohenewaa Akyerem