Why Ghana Must Reclaim Her Future from Galamsey- By Stanley Felton
In my youth, I visited the high plateaus of Tibet. I sought wisdom from monks who seemed to live in harmony with a world most of us, in our noisy rush for profit and power, have forgotten how to hear. One morning, as the sun rose over the Himalayas, an elderly monk told me: “He who wounds the earth, wounds himself. Protect her, and she will remember your name.”
Those words have echoed in my heart—and today, they ring louder than ever as I watch my beloved Ghana bleeding from the wounds of illegal gold mining.
*Poison in Rivers*
From the Pra to the Ankobra, from the Birim to the Offin, our water bodies have become shadows of their former selves—poisoned by mercury, choked by silt, and robbed of life by the insatiable hunger for gold. What began as a means of survival for a few young men has metastasized into a national affliction: galamsey. This term, once evoking ingenuity and grit, is now synonymous with environmental ruin and moral decay. Yes, youth unemployment is real. But when our survival demands the destruction of our rivers, farms, and forests, we have effectively mortgaged our children’s tomorrow for a few ounces of fleeting wealth.
*Meeting That Missed Moment*
The recent meeting between the President and civil society organizations (CSOs) was, in principle, a welcome step. Many CSOs passionately addressed the pollution of water bodies and the urgency of enforcement. Yet, watching the event, I felt we were merely circling the drain: talk without transformation.
The efficacy of this meeting hinges not on more reports or committees, but on the courage to act boldly—beyond politics, beyond speeches, and beyond the next election cycle. We must face the facts: this crisis is existential. We are rapidly running out of clean water, arable land, and moral resolve.
What Ghana needs now is a bold, transparent National Anti-Galamsey Fund, targeting one billion Ghanaian cedis to reclaim our destroyed lands and rivers. This fund must not enrich contractors. It must be used to employ the very youths now trapped in illegal mining—turning destroyers into healers. Organized into cooperatives, they can be paid to restore the environment: replanting forests, rehabilitating farmlands, and purifying polluted rivers. Some can even become “Blue River Guards,” tasked with protecting our waterways from further abuse.
Every sector must contribute—corporate mining companies, banks, churches, traditional councils, and ordinary citizens. Government appointees must donate a percentage of their salaries. All contributions must be public, traceable, and managed with full transparency.
*Cracking Down on Culprits*
We must not pretend that the young men with shovels and pans are the true masterminds. The financiers, equipment suppliers, and political protectors behind galamsey must be identified, prosecuted, and jailed.
A total ban and strict monitoring on the importation of excavators and chanfan machines must be ruthlessly enforced. Those who continue to fund and facilitate these crimes should face the same penalties as drug traffickers—for that is what they are: traffickers of our nation’s soul. In the developed world, the unemployed receive social safety nets to prevent desperation. In Ghana, our safety net must be productive work—work that heals our land.
The reclamation cooperatives can become engines of agricultural renewal, reforestation, and water management. If, after all this, a minority still insists on engaging in illegal mining, then—and only then—should the state deploy a special task force of 1,000 well-equipped soldiers to clear them out. When livelihoods are restored, those who continue to destroy must face the full force of the law.
*Call to Conscience*
My Tibetan teacher would say, “The earth does not forget who walks gently upon her.” Ghana stands at a spiritual crossroads. We can choose to be the generation that sold our rivers for gold, or the one that restored the land so our grandchildren can drink from the streams again.
Let us not wait for the world to pity us. Let us rise, all of us—government, business, church, and citizen—to reclaim Ghana from the abyss of galamsey. If we do this together, we will not only save our rivers; we will rediscover our soul.
The writer is with the African Art & Culture Dev Co Ltd, AACD African Market, East Legon.
By Stanley Felten
