Galamsey and the Death of Conscience: When Journalists Become Targets for Speaking Truth

The recent brutal attack on two journalists by illegal miners in Obuasi, Ashanti Region, is not just an assault on press freedom, it is a direct attack on Ghana’s collective conscience. How many more innocent people must suffer or die while fighting to stop this menace that continues to destroy our lands, forests, and rivers? How long shall we sit aloof, pretending nothing is happening, as illegal mining tightens its deadly grip on our nation’s future?

We are fast approaching a national catastrophe. The havoc caused by illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is already creeping into our daily lives. Scientists and health experts have warned that traces of cyanide and other dangerous chemicals used in gold extraction have been found in food crops and water sources in several communities where galamsey activities are rampant. This means that even those who have never picked up a shovel or touched a gold pan are being poisoned slowly, meal after meal, glass after glass.

Our youth, who believe they are getting rich quickly from galamsey, must understand that no amount of money is worth the destruction of their health and environment. The same wealth they are accumulating today will be spent tomorrow in hospitals treating the diseases caused by exposure to toxic substances. Ironically, the poor farmers, fishermen, and market women, who derive no benefit from illegal mining are the ones paying the heaviest price through contaminated food, polluted water, and lost livelihoods.

We are sitting on a time bomb. And when it finally explodes, the devastation will not spare anyone. The very day the full repercussions of illegal mining hit this nation, we will realise the magnitude of our negligence, but it will be too late to reverse the damage. And I doubt if this country can contain the shock.

It has become glaringly clear that there is a serious lack of political will to stop galamsey. What we heard in opposition from the political parties is totally different from what we see today in governance. Both major parties have, in one way or another, been complicit in perpetuating this national disaster. If not, how can we explain why illegal mining continues to thrive despite countless promises and interventions?

The recent shocking case of a Member of Parliament allegedly leading thugs to attack an anti-galamsey task force further exposes the rot within our political system. When those who make the laws choose to break them, and when political power shields lawbreakers instead of punishing them, the fight against illegal mining becomes a mockery.

This is not a battle for the government alone. It is a fight for our survival as a people. Civil society groups, traditional authorities, religious leaders, the media, and all well-meaning Ghanaians must rise and put unrelenting pressure on our political leaders to act decisively. We cannot allow greed and corruption to destroy the future of generations yet unborn.

The attack on journalists in Obuasi should serve as a wake-up call to every Ghanaian. Silencing the truth will not make the problem disappear. Instead, it emboldens the perpetrators and deepens our national tragedy. The time to act is now, before our silence buries us all.

— The Trial News