‘Deal with galamsey or we perish’

Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey (GCAG) has called on President John Dramani Mahama to take urgent and decisive action to address what they describe as an “ecocidal genocide” caused by illegal mining, also known as galamsey.

Addressing the president during a stakeholder meeting in Accra, the coalition warned that the nation is “poisoning its own life-support systems” through mercury and heavy metal contamination from galamsey activities.

The address cited findings from a joint Mercury and Heavy Metals Impact Assessment by Pure Earth and the EPA, alongside the UN Special Rapporteur’s 2023 report, which revealed mercury levels in Konongo Zongo soil at 560% above safety guidelines, and arsenic concentrations in some areas over 400 times the permissible limit.

“The cumulative exposure to this cocktail of toxic metals through multiple pathways is a serious health hazard. Children are developing kidney disorders, women are suffering spontaneous abortions, and rivers that serve millions are contaminated beyond safe levels,” the petition noted.

The coalition is demanding a clear roadmap from the President, including timelines, milestones, and benchmarks that would trigger a State of Emergency if necessary. It also called for fast-track courts, prosecution of galamsey kingpins, publication of monthly water and forest reserve reports, and stronger protections for anti-galamsey activists.

“With all respect due, we say with such authority and conviction that not to act decisively and energetically to bring this atrocity to an end is to be complicit in this wilful ecocidal genocide of monumental proportion,” the petition stated.

The full statement, endorsed by over 20 civil society organisations and professional bodies, is published below.