Ghana’s president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has implored African leaders to learn from Ghana in the fight against illegal mining popularly known as Galamsay.
Speaking at the 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo indicated that the results of the ban on illegal mining in Ghana is the achievement of carbon emissions reduction.
He told the African leaders that Ghana under his leadership has stopped galamsay which was previously destroying water bodies and forest reserves. He adds that the situation has helped in the reduction of the country’s carbon emissions.
He adds that several policies have been tables by his government to reduce the carbon emissions. He mentions several flagship programs including planting for food and jobs, ban on illegal mining, one village one dam, and many others as contribution factors.
“We placed a ban on illegal mining the phenomenon we call galamsey which was destroying our water bodies, vegetation and our forest. Some 20, 000 young people have been engaged to plant more than 30 million trees in two years to create jobs and restore degraded lands.
“These policy initiatives are already yielding positive results in the attainment of SDG Goals, particularly the goal of reducing our carbon emissions,” President Akufo-Addo said.
In a related development, the chiefs and people of Suaman in the western North Region of Ghana are calling on the president to remove their district chief executive for indulging on galamsay. They indicate that the district chief executive is currently leading illegal mining activities in the area leading to the destruction of water bodies and forest reserves.