{"id":22126,"date":"2025-09-15T17:27:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=22126"},"modified":"2025-09-15T17:27:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:27:24","slug":"galamsey-fight-acting-chief-justice-slams-half-hearted-measures-warns-of-existential-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expressnewsghana.com\/?p=22126","title":{"rendered":"Galamsey Fight: Acting Chief Justice Slams \u2018Half-Hearted\u2019 Measures, Warns of Existential Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has delivered a stark warning on the devastating impact of illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey, stressing that the state\u2019s countermeasures have been \u201chalf-hearted\u201d and ineffective.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the Ghana Bar Association\u2019s annual conference on Monday, September 15, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie described galamsey as \u201ca phenomenon which gnaws at the nation\u2019s heart and is undoubtedly an existential threat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He painted a grim picture of the environmental, social, and economic toll of illegal mining, noting that Ghana\u2019s rivers\u2014including the Pra, Ankobra, and Birim\u2014have become \u201clifeless and murky\u201d due to toxic chemical use and reckless waste disposal. The Ghana Water Company Limited, he warned, has repeatedly cautioned of an imminent water crisis as treatment plants now record losses of up to 50%, compared to an acceptable rate of 5%.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGalamsey has stripped away topsoil and vegetation, leaving land barren and prone to erosion. Forests have been destroyed, natural habitats disrupted, and entire ecosystems dismantled,\u201d he lamented. He further linked the practice to displacement of farmers, rising poverty, mercury-related health issues, and food insecurity.<\/p>\n<p>On the economic front, the Acting Chief Justice said the destruction of arable land and contaminated water sources has crippled agriculture, driven up food prices, and worsened poverty in mining communities. He also cited national security threats, pointing to a rise in violence, robbery, and other crimes in mining zones.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Baffoe-Bonnie drew on Chinua Achebe\u2019s famous Igbo proverb\u2014\u201cthe death that will kill a man begins as an appetite\u201d\u2014to illustrate how the recognition of small-scale mining under PNDCL 218 in 1989 had spiraled into today\u2019s crisis. He criticised successive governments for failing to show the political will to hold powerful actors accountable, choosing instead to target only low-level miners.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndeed, in the years after, galamsey has got worse, as the measures we have employed to combat it seem half-hearted and unable to curb this menace, which is a threat to the country\u2019s survival,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He urged immediate bold reforms, beginning with the repeal of L.I. 2462, which permits mining in forest reserves, describing it as \u201ca good place to start\u201d if Ghana is serious about winning the war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe time to act is now, without any further delay,\u201d the Acting Chief Justice stressed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has delivered a stark warning on the devastating impact of illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey, stressing that the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - 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