God, in His infinite wisdom and foresight, has endowed Ghana with numerous natural mineral resources, including gold, diamonds, and others. The country has been mining gold since the days of independence and beyond.

There had been little or no difficulty with the manner in which gold was extracted fifty to sixty years ago. Not until recently, about fifteen years ago, was the country introduced to this hazardous mode of extracting gold through illicit means.

The fight against galamsey (illegal mining) is non-negotiable and must not be left to the political actors alone, but must be a collective effort to combat it. We are talking about an existential threat to humans and the ecosystem in general.

The combative nature in tackling this issue has not yielded any productive results but has rather exacerbated the situation. That is why there is a need to rethink the galamsey menace and take more suitable, reasonable, logical, and pragmatic steps in resolving it.

The endowment of gold was not a punishment for us as a country, but it is an avenue to prudently manage it and make the citizens benefit from it.

The issue of illegal mining has been at the forefront of public discussion for about fifteen years now, and yet there have not been any reasonable and logical solutions put in place to combat it. The same old antics and tactics have been deployed by successive governments, but the situation keeps getting worse.

The frequent deployment of the military to galamsey centres has become routine, yet yields little progress. We have not found effective, well-considered solutions.

Has it ever occurred to these politicians that galamsey has remained unresolved and protracted after all these years? The issue of galamsey can just be solved by common sense, but it seems it has eluded the authorities.

Have they asked why these youth and residents in these communities engage in this life-threatening venture? If these common-sense questions are not answered, then it will take a longer time before this issue gets under control.

Folks, do not get me wrong, I am not advocating for the practice of galamsey, but I am advocating for a practical and reasonable means of tackling it.

Now, before the youth in these galamsey communities can have a rethink, there should be alternatives. What I mean by alternatives is that there should be other competitive jobs that will make it difficult for the youth to even decide to engage in illegal mining.

Unemployment has plagued this country for years without adequate solutions. Youth and graduate unemployment worsen the issue annually. During elections, politicians exploit these concerns for votes but show little vision once in office, resorting only to political appointments. How many such appointments can truly address the problem?

Unless the root cause (unemployment) is resolved, it will be difficult to tackle this issue.

What has been done over the years in resolving this issue has not been in tackling the root cause, but always begins from the root of the tree. Deploying the military in fighting this ‘galamsey war’ will never work, no matter the number of military personnel they deploy into these areas.

It is even dangerous for these men because the locals know every nook and cranny of the areas, while the men in uniform do not. We would rather put them in danger because these locals can ambush them, as we often hear.

I strongly think that common sense is needed in resolving this issue, and not the usual orthodox way of military deployment.

This won’t work, and it has proven over the years that it is not a properly thought-through solution. It is just an ad hoc measure. It is about time we put a mechanism in place to make it unattractive for these youth.

If there are decent job alternatives in these areas, do you think these people will risk their lives? Perhaps not, but because they must survive in the face of all the dangers available in engaging in galamsey, they have no option but to engage.

We have already seen some of the effects of galamsey. Our water bodies are being destroyed, and farmers and those close to these rivers are unable to access clean water.

To the extent that it has now reached the cities because the Ghana Water Company cannot decontaminate the water again. Talk about the chemicals that are used in this mining and the risky effects on us.

We have already seen some of the dangers. Children born with various forms of dangerous deformities and others.

Another disgusting aspect of this task force is their desire to burn the machines in the water bodies and in the bush.

Sometimes, I ask myself if they do these things out of emotions, or if common sense is just not working… Who are the experts advising them to tread this perilous path?

In the past two general elections, the opposition made a lot of meals out of the galamsey menace, and thankfully, they won the last election.

It is one year into their administration, and I have not seen any commonsensical approach in resolving the issue. It is the usual deployment of the military, organising press conferences, issuing statements, and others.

No other cogent and reasonable efforts in dealing with it. No blueprint for creating sustainable jobs that will serve as an alternative for these “galamseyers”. It is the usual rhetoric and nothing more.

I strongly think that it is about time we rethink this galamsey issue and put in practical measures and alternatives to help combat it.

The government of the day should create enough avenues where these people will have jobs and not always engage in this dangerous venture of galamsey.

The previous government deployed the military; we did not see any reasonable outcome from that deployment, and the current government is doing the same, and I do not expect any reasonable outcome as well.

It is never about reporting people who are doing illegal mining on our water bodies to the authorities.

It is about creating alternative livelihood solutions for them. It is about tackling the root cause of the menace before moving to the stem of the issue. If we rely on this old method, we will always achieve the same result. Unemployment is the root cause, and I hope the government has seen it or has been briefed about it. If they pretend that they are solving it, the issue will also pretend to be solved.