He, therefore, demanded that all licences or leases granted small-scale mining that had not been ratified by Parliament must stop immediately because they were all illegal.

No parliamentary ratification

Mr Ankomah made the disclosure when he led OccupyGhana to join a media coalition meeting in Accra yesterday, comprising major media organisations in the country, to wage a crusade against the ‘galamsey’ menace.

Article 268 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states that; “Any transaction, contract or undertaking involving the grant of a right or concession by or on behalf of any person, including the Government of Ghana, to any other person or body of persons howsoever described, for the exploitation of any mineral, water or other natural resource of Ghana made or entered into after the coming into force of this Constitution shall be subject to ratification by Parliament.”

Buttressing his point as he quoted the Constitution, Mr Ankomah stated that all small-scale mining licences had not been to Parliament to be ratified, for which reason he called for an immediate end to all mining operations subject to the ratification of mining licences.

He said the fight against galamsey should not only be limited to persons engaged in ‘pick axe’ mining but should also include persons mining without the proper licences.

“Even if the Minerals Commission has issued a licence and Parliament has not ratified, it should be considered galamsey. Our demand is that all licences or leases that have not been to Parliament must stop immediately because they are all illegal,” Mr Ankomah, who is also a leading member of OccupyGhana, added.

He stated that OccupyGhana was determined to take all legal means possible to have galamsey stopped.

National Red Friday

In an effort to intensify the campaign against the menace, Mr Ankomah declared April 21, 2017 as National Red Friday, on which day members of the coalition and persons concerned about the campaign are expected to dress in red apparels to send a message to the government that ‘enough is enough’.

The media coalition which was launched last week Tuesday hopes to collect one million signatures from Ghanaians and individuals interested in joining the fight against illegal mining, otherwise known as “galamsey”, and forward it to the Presidency for radical action.

The Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, who is also the convener of the coalition, said the failure to curb illegal mining in the country over the past decades was unfortunate, stressing the need for urgent steps to stop it now.

 He blamed the current state of affairs on leadership failure from all sectors and expressed the hope that political leadership for once would take charge and bring the menace which had muddied water bodies in the country to an immediate end.

 He announced plans by the coalition to visit all the galamsey sites across the country to drum home the dangers it was posing to the society; and also indicated plans to also join forces with other security agencies, civil society organisations, as well as traditional leaders and the clergy to fight the canker.

 Countdown

 Mr Ashigbey urged the media to begin to publish the countdown to the three-week ultimatum issued by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr John Peter Amewu, to galamsey operators to cease operations in readiness to intensify the battle against the problem.

 He had an issue with members of Parliament whose constituencies were seriously affected by galamsey but failed to speak out against the menace, saying “they are part of the problem”.

A former Municipal Chief Executive of Upper Denkyira, Mr Kofi Ashia, who fought some galamsey operators during his tenure, said the time frame for issuing licences did not ensure strict monitoring of galamsey activities.

 He said the issue was further compounded because influential individuals, including politicians in Accra, provided the galamsey operators with heavy equipment to operate.

The Denkyira Development Association, led by its Public Relations Officer, Mr William Amoako Appiah, also joined the coalition and pledged his support in the fight against the operators, lamenting the fact that the Denkyira area was one of the most degraded places in the country through the activities of illegal mining.

The coalition include media partners such as the GCGL, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the New Times Corporation (NTC), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the Christian Council and the Private Newspapers Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG).