Social justice activist Felicity Nelson has criticised the government for what she describes as its lacklustre approach to combating illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
In an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, October 12, Madam Nelson, who was recently granted bail after a two-week detention for her role in the Democracy Hub anti-galamsey protest, expressed her frustration over the government’s inability to effectively tackle the ongoing environmental crisis.
She accused the government of “pussyfooting” around the issue, stating that despite numerous promises and policies, little progress has been made in curbing the destructive practice.
According to her, the damage caused by galamsey continues to worsen, with water bodies and forest reserves being devastated while government interventions remain insufficient.
She further argued that the government’s weak stance on galamsey suggests a lack of political will to address the problem head-on.
She called for more decisive action, including stronger enforcement of laws, prosecution of offenders, and increased transparency in the fight against illegal mining.
The activist urged Ghanaians to demand accountability from their leaders and join efforts to protect the environment from further degradation.
She stressed that the country cannot afford to delay any longer in taking meaningful steps to end galamsey and restore the nation’s natural resources.
“I was alarmed when he [A researcher] mentioned the period it will take to restore the polluted water bodies and that is crazy. The scariest part of this is that we are pussyfooting around the issue and we are going in like burning excavators, and it is very common when we do these things which don’t achieve anything but focus on PR games by burning an excavator which can be used to construct roads and so much work. So it’s senseless to be doing that at this time,” she stated.
About 100 military personnel deployed on the Birim River in the Eastern Region have so far burnt 18 changfan machines and several water pumps.
But critics say this approach failed in the past and may not achieve anything now.
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