President Akufo-Addo in a handshake with Okyenhene Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin
Okyenhene Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin has thrown his weight behind President Akufo-Addo in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’, in some regions of the country.
Delivering the keynote address at the 2021 Graduate Practitioners’ Forum at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on Friday, the Okyenhene reiterated the need to preserve the natural environment since anything contrary to that will have severe repercussions on our very existence as a people, saying, “If you mess with God’s property we pay a price.”
“The menace of galamsey and chainsaw operations and reckless unsupervised community mining should stop. We should stop the blame game, the insults, name calling, half-truths, and mischief on this galamsey,” he cautioned.
He said that “with the President’s leadership and proper policies, we can repair many of the damages. Many of us have shed tears of anger and frustration knowing that some of the destruction in most cases is irreversible.
“We cut medicinal plants and trees in our tropical forests and send them into extinction before we can discover the life saving features it may hold. Let us stop it. It has to take an all-hands-on-deck-approach.”
He also commended the government for deploying 200 soldiers to combat galamsey in the Western Region and along our water bodies, saying “this President has done it before and will do it again. I hope this time it is sustainable.”
Sanitation Issues
The Okyenhene also said the country has to also worry about poor sanitation and waste management in the cities.
“I am aware that our Hon. Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources is working tirelessly to bring the situation under control and clean up the city but we have to remember, Accra is too congested and there is a limit to the size of this city and the number of people it can comfortably accommodate and support.
“You will agree with me that we have since passed that number. It’s obvious that our Ghana of 1957 with its civil service, systems and structures that we inherited with a population of 4.5 million is not applicable in our Ghana of 2021 with about 35 million people.
He said “we have to change to grow. We cannot remain here.”
Science & Technology
Touching on the benefits of innovation, science and technology, the Okyenhene advised government to make significant science and technology investment in the youth to enable them to compete on the global stage.
“Now is the time for us to make investment into science and technology for the young people in Ghana and Africa at large, otherwise our young folks generation cannot compete at the world stage,” he said.
Education
On education, the Okyenhene urged that every child of school-going age should be in school and find a good teacher to learn from.
Quality education he said “is possible when classrooms are small, and curricula is constantly upgraded to meet world class standards,” adding “this can only be achieved when as a nation we see the urgency in paying qualified teachers in science and technology what they rightfully deserve.”
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio