Head of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, Prof. Kofi Agyekum
The Head of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, Prof. Kofi Agyekum, has underscored the far-reaching effects of illegal mining activities, otherwise known as galamsey.
Speaking on the Monday, October 14, 2024, edition of Peace FM’s Kokrokoo, Prof. Agyekum said that given the chance to choose between the activities of witchcraft and galamsey, he would choose to suffer the former over the latter.
“If you place a person engaged in galamsey and a witch side-by-side, I will choose a witch. Do you know that a witch does not extend their craft beyond their family? There’s a saying that the witch causing your problems is from your own home. What a witch does is to destroy someone by inflicting a disease on them or by killing them, but they are unable to kill beyond their family.
“But what the person engaged in galamsey does is to destroy the land and the fruits it bears. Are you aware that some heavy metals have been found in the yam we export abroad? This tells us that those engaged in galamsey are killing all of us slowly. Health professionals have found in the Konongo areas that newborns have certain diseases that threaten their overall development as humans. So, I see the person engaged in galamsey to be more atrocious than a witch,” Prof. Agyekum added.
He stressed the need for a collective effort against illegal mining,l while underscoring the need to depoliticise discourses around the subject.
The government, in the face of the devastating impact suffered by Ghana’s water bodies and forest reserves, is under pressure to implement strict measures against galamsey.
The government has recently announced enhanced measures in the battle against illegal mining, including the deployment of soldiers to affected areas.
GA/AE
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