Galamsey: Eco-Conscious Citizens and others renew call for state of emergency

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Oct. 21 2024 Press Release

Eco-Conscious Citizens And Others Renew Call For A State Of Emergency

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Eco-Conscious Citizens and other concerned groups and citizens urge the Government to declare a state of emergency and deal decisively with the illegal mining and ecocide ravaging Ghana, before we reach the point of no return.

We condemn the dastardly attack on Erastus Asare Donkor and his broadcast team. It is disheartening to hear that that they were assaulted by heavily armed men protecting illegal miners. This raises serious national security concerns. We cannot stand idly by whilst private armies have been formed to enforce ecocide and threaten the security of the state. We cannot through Government inaction head towards a failed state.

We have to act now – before our security concerns worsen, and God forbid, result in civil war. Also of great concern are reports of national security operatives retreating because the illegal miners have superior weaponry.

We call on Organised Labour to give the Government seven days to declare a state of emergency, failing which the national strike will resume.

It is clear that the revocation of L.I. 2462 can not be passed within this Parliament without the President, Parliament or the Minister for the Environment resorting to other means within their powers.

We face an existential threat from the poisoning of our water bodies, and the destruction of our forests and farmlands. We also face serious national security concerns, which have not been sufficiently raised in the recent discourse on illegal mining

Police and Military must be deployed to remove all miners and mining equipment from our water bodies, forest reserves and farmlands.

Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must as a matter of urgency, begin to robustly enforce the restoration obligations within its agreements with miners and also adopt the
Polluter Pays principle. This is necessary to ensure the environment is reclaimed and restored after mining activity, and our Food Sovereignty and Food Chain are protected.

We call on all political parties and presidential aspirants to put Ghana first and sign up to the demands below, which are in line with the Eco-Conscious Citizens Friends Of The Environment Manifesto, which is copied at the bottom of this press release:

* The declaration of a state of emergency in line with section 31 and 31 (4) of the 1992 constitution in order to fight the environmental terrorists.

* The repeal of L.I. 2462 and ensuring that there is no mining or logging in protected forest reserves or globally significant biodiversity areas.

* The revocation of licences that have been granted for mining in forest reserves.

* An immediate pause to all Small scale/Community Mining and a halt to the issuance of new licences.

* A robust and effective investigation of all persons named in Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s report.

It is pure wickedness to allow illegal mining to thrive and refuse to pause small scale mining, which we are not monitoring, when we know that Ghana gets more from remittances and non traditional exports, whilst ecocide from unregulated mining is causing an increase in kidney disease, cancers, neurological challenges, maternal deaths, still births, birth defects, loss of livelihood of fishermen and over two million peasant farmers.

Unregulated mining is making a few individuals rich, whilst poisoning us and destroying Ghana.

We thank Organised Labour for getting Government to purport to act on some issues environmental organisations have been campaigning on, such as revoking L.I.2462.
However, there has been little progress since the suspension of the National Strike. We therefore urge Organised Labour to end the suspension of the National Strike, if the government fails to institute a state of emergency within seven days.

The attack on Erastus Asare Donkor and his team highlights very clearly that the illegal miners are emboldened, and like the illegal drug cartels of Latin America, will raise private armies to protect their criminal enterprise.

The President, Parliament and the National Security apparatus must be resolute and decisive in dealing with the environmental terrorists now!

God is not mocked.

Voters should be wary of parties or persons who are reluctant to sign up to ending the ongoing ecocide.

Eco-Conscious Citizens Coordinator

NOTES
The Eco-Conscious Citizens Friends Of The Environment Manifesto

https://bit.ly/EcoConsciousCitizensManifesto

Eco-Conscious Citizens Friends Of The Environment Manifesto

1. Repeal EI144 and withdraw LI2462 within first 6 months of administration.

2. Pause Community Mining and enshrine rights of communities to reject mining in their localities within first six months of administration.

3. Ban single use plastics within your term.

4. Pass an Executive Instrument protecting wetlands and other ecological sites and prohibiting entry for purposes inconsistent with protecting ecological sites within the first six months of your administration.

Prohibit installation of utilities to wetlands and other ecological sites for dwelling houses and purposes inconsistent with protecting the said sites within the first six months.

5. Within the first year, pass a Legislative Instrument providing that if three or more noise nuisance complaints are made against an establishment, facility or individual in a residential or mixed residential area, the alleged noise maker will not be allowed to use sound amplification equipment until they can prove to the satisfaction of the satisfaction of a Court that the use of said equipment is no longer causing a nuisance.

Eco-Conscious Citizens
EcoConsciousCitizens@gmail.com
https://Linktr.ee/EcoConsciousCitizens