The Speaker of Parliament, Alban S.K. Bagbin, has joined the growing voices calling for an expedited action against the menace of illegal mining in some of the country’s forest reserves and water bodies.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, Speaker Alban Bagbin emphasized the urgent need for collective action to address the environmental degradation caused by illegal mining activities, popularly referred to as Galamsey.
“We started off with good intentions to help build this country,” he posted.
He noted that the initial intention and expectation of every citizen is to help build the country, especially, since adopting democracy, adding that as people who are mandated and clothed with power to build Ghana, cannot be the same people whose actions and inactions are responsible for derailing the progress made over the years.
The Speaker also expressed worry over a situation where those who seem to be voicing their concerns and calling on central government to deal with the problem of illegal mining, are targeted by people in power.
He thus called for a unified approach to combat the illegal mining practices that have become a threat to the nation’s ecological integrity.
“We started off with good intentions to help build this country. We cannot grow to be the ones that destroy it by holding on to power while the environment is destroyed by people who are supposed to be licenced miners; and at the same time crash voices that speak up against it. Ghana deserve better!”
By: Bright Yao Dzakah | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
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