The entire nation, not just the government, must share in the failure to effectively address illegal mining and its attendant devastation.
Law lecturer and practitioner, Mr. Kwame Gyan insists the failure is a collective one, explaining that everyone has a role to play to ensure the safety of the country and its resources.
According to him, there is no need in apportioning blame to a particular government or the other.
In an interview on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show, Mr Gyan said Ghanaians should focus on the impacts of the menace seen now and how it can be addressed once and for all.
He insisted that, until that is done, the menace will continue resurfacing after fights upon fights by governments.
“The fight against illegal mining (galamsey) is a collective fight. What we are all calling a failure is a collective failure. We shouldn’t blame anybody. So if you sit here today and say it is the current government that has failed in the fight, I will not agree.
“We Ghanaians, any time we fall, love to concentrate on where we have fallen instead of concentrating on where we slipped and fell.
“So, we should not look at just what we are seeing today and ascribe responsibility that it is just this current government that has not been able to deal with galamsey or illegal mining,” he insisted.
The government’s anti-galamsey policies and strategies have come under criticism with many questioning the will to rid the country of the menace.
Last week, the Akufo-Addo administration came under fire from Asantehene, who claims the much-touted fight is shrouded in falsehood.
According to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the fight would remain a sham unless the appropriate individuals, particularly financiers, who are responsible for the illegal mining scourge, are identified.
“Are they saying they don’t know those behind galamsey in Ghana? The gold ends up being sold abroad. So who is behind the sale of gold abroad? Is it not the financier? How come he is not arrested?”
But Mr Gyan believes everyone has a role to play in ending the menace.
