Collaborating to overcome the galamsey crisis: It’s never too late!

To many of us, the aerial drone images of the awful state of our rivers and our forests, caused by the illegal mining (galamsey) menace have been a great source of concern and fear. The underlying cause of the menace, in my opinion, is the lack of leadership, which in large part is also responsible for the lack of development that has been our bane as a people.

Lack of leadership, in this context, connotes two things: Lack of vision (not knowing where we are going) and an adaptable collaborative process to get us to this vision. Lack of leadership is evidenced by the dysfunction and the mess we see on our streets, in our towns and villages, the rot we see in public and private administration, and the general disorder we live wrestle with every day.

It comes as no surprise that when people do not have a great sense of where they are going, they often resort to pursuing selfish and individualist ends and ignore the collective purpose. The ongoing illegal mining crisis is a manifestation of a lack of vision and a collaborative process that gets us to the vision.

Usually, people think of leadership in terms of positions of authority. Of course, Ghana can never run short of people in positions of authority what we lack is leadership. The practice of calling people in authority as leaders is a misconception, and clearly, a disservice to the meaning and function of leadership. Leadership is not about the positions people occupy; it is a process for real positive change that transforms people.

It involves a lot of sacrifice and honesty. It involves being driven by a common vision and influencing others to the vision. In the fight against galamsey, we need a collaborative response from all Ghanaians: those in authority, people who live in communities plagued by illegal mining activities, as well as the galamseyers and their financiers. The bottom line is that if we intend to solve this crisis, we must have a solution that involves all stakeholders. It must go beyond politics (often a real obstacle to a collaborative process) for dealing with the menace.

Failed efforts of past and present governments to curb the menace such as confiscation and burning of excavators, military patrols, and other similar efforts are examples of how not to apply technical fixes to address an adaptive challenge. The difficulty of containing the crisis after several efforts by successive governments, at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer, must however invite us to search for other solutions to the menace which might deliver better and more durable outcomes.

I am of the impression that existing political and traditional mechanisms for ensuring the protection of the environment have failed woefully; they are fraught with corruption, lack of accountability, and too often controlled and manipulated by those who are the direct beneficiaries of such dysfunction.

To deal definitively with this fast-spreading cancer that threatens the very existence of our Ghanaian society, we must be willing to go beyond the quick fixes engaged for cheap political wins and instead establish a broad-based, nonpolitical and collaborative process that ensures that the fight against galamsey could be won for the survival of our society. Such a leadership process would replace the current top-down, corruption-ridden, politics-driven technical fixes that only manage the issues for a little while only to return with more devastation in no time.

Restoring leadership to the people

The question worth asking is how do we get ourselves out of this mess? In my opinion, we have the ability to stop what is going on; yes, we the people can end this crisis. We start by increasing our involvement in the fight against galamsey.

All sections of society need to speak up and demand the protection of the environment. Currently, media reports and public opinions around this crisis are showing how several Ghanaians feel disappointed and frustrated at the destruction being unleashed on our water bodies, vegetation, farms, arable land, and on the peaceful lives of communities by Ghanaians and a few foreigners.

The boiling energies and frustrations are gradually being translated into speaking about the menace, visiting illegal mining sites, and demanding accountability. There is a clear window of opportunity here, whereby our shared aspirations and longing for an end to this crisis is brought to the mainstream. It is evident that leadership is gradually emerging out of sections of society that had relinquished such power to the politicians alone.

As Ghanaians, we all long for a time when the holes and pits left behind by illegal mining would be filled, and our vegetation will be replenished. We also look forward to a time when we will have clean water to drink and eat safely the produce of the field without any fear of dying from consuming deadly chemicals like cyanide. We also share a common vision of not wanting to see a time when water will be imported into the country from places like China for our people to drink.

If being united about our shared aspirations of a galamsey-free environment is an important step in the leadership effort, taking upon ourselves the task of leading the change and becoming the architects of the change we seek is even more paramount. We can all play a role in bringing an end to the galamsey crisis through our collaborative efforts to reject illegal mining and embrace environmental justice.

We can for instance demand scrutiny for the concessions regime to ensure an end to indiscriminate excavations and cutting down of trees, pollution of rivers, and the destruction of our common home. Such collaborative efforts would set us on the path to our vision of a galamsey-free society. We must be involved with influencing one another to engage in actions that deliver positive results for our forests, water bodies, and our environment.

A leadership process rather than the business-as-usual mindset can achieve far greater and more enduring outcomes. The process for changing the trend of this menace should bring stakeholders together: galamseyers and their financiers, traditional and political authorities, lawmakers, law enforcement agencies, and members of the community.

The change that is expected is foremost restorative, aiming to deal with the destruction that is being witnessed in the broad daylight. It looks to the quality of life that used to be and aims at repairing what has been destroyed.

There was a time in our history as a nation when the rivers were colorless, when people in positions of authority in the traditional systems acted to protect the natural resources, when political operatives ensured the enforcement of laws without fear or favor, and when the Ghanaian people did not engage in indiscriminate excavations, cutting down of trees and destruction of the rivers that gave life to the entire community. Overcoming the galamsey crisis requires a behavioral change among those who occupy positions of authority and all Ghanaians.

Leadership from lawmakers

One institution of society that could play a pivotal role in this collaborative response is an independent judiciary, which is courageous enough to administer justice in an environment where justice delivery could easily be interrupted by forces within and without. Impartial justice for perpetrators of the menace could involve re-appropriating ill-gotten wealth for land restoration to be led by the communities that have been affected. I think people must not get away with ill-gotten wealth; it will mean incentivizing illegal behaviors.

New laws for the protection of the environment need to be made by parliament. Such laws should look to address the underlying difficulties facing the implementation of existing laws such as the penalties for destroying the environment through illegal mining. This will serve as a deterrent. Penalties such as the filling of manholes and tree planting must be included in the penal codes. Obviously, we need leadership to emerge from the house of the people to push this effort and to move us toward a galamsey-free society.

The crisis of galamsey is only exposing our biggest challenge as a people: the lack of leadership. We can overcome that challenge by becoming more collaborative and pursue a common vision for our environment. The crisis should arouse not just our sympathies but our passion for action.

Honestly, the most powerful source of power that can reliably protect the environment is not in the parliament (sometimes filled with a bunch of visionless individuals) nor is it to be found in a stool or seat of power (sometimes filled with occupants who only care about themselves). The real power for protecting our environment resides among us, the people. It is the power to be fearless and say to one another that ‘this is unacceptable’. It is the power to pursue a common vision such as the protection of the environment.