At a press conference held in Accra yesterday, the CSOs Platform cited the devastating impact of illegal mining on the country’s sustainable develop­ment goals and requested for an immediate action to be taken by the government.

It also condemned the widespread destruction caused by galamsey, emphasizing its threat to rural livelihoods, public health, food security, and natural resources.

Speaking at the press confer­ence, the Executive Secretary of Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and Co-Chair, CSOs Platform on SDGs, Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh, demand­ed an immediate action from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to help eliminate the menace the ‘galamsey’ had caused.
    

The demands included the im­mediate revocation of LI 2462 and withdrawal of all licenses that had been granted for recon­naissance, prospecting, explo­ration and or mining in forest and protected reserves, and the withdrawal of all licenses that had been granted for mining concessions that span across water bodies.

Others were the enforcement of all illegal mining including mining in water bodies and forest reserves, and enforcement of the buffer zone policy of no mining within 100 metres of any river or water body.

She also indicated that the issue of galamsey was wide­spread and without combating it and other forms of irre­sponsible mining in Ghana, it would continue and the country would not be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 13, 14 and 15, which focused on climate change, life below water and life on land by the year 2030.

Mrs Narteh further urged citi­zens to unite against the fight of galamsey, emphasizing the criti­cal need for government action to protect the environment and ensure sustainable development.

“The nuance and the menace will further remove Ghana from the conversation of the pact for the future that includes a global digital compact and a declara­tion of future generations was adopted at the United Nations in September 2024,” she added.

The Governance Officer and a representative of the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Zuberu Ali­du, expressed the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu’s worry on galamsey and called on the leadership of the country to pay heed to the advice of environmental experts and other relevant stakeholders in order to save humanity and the nation at large.

“The chief imam takes this opportunity to call on the leader­ship, that is the President, parlia­ment for them to reaffirm their commitment to the nationwide fight against galamsey,” Alhaji Alidu said.

“If the current trend of water body destruction continues, the future of this country would be in jeopardy,” he added