Legal practitioner calls for state of emergency as galamsey threat deepens
By Solomon Nartey Tetteh
Legal practitioner Seth Asante Wiafe of Crown Legal Bureau has called for the declaration of a state of emergency to address the worsening impact of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, on Ghana’s environment.
Speaking on Business Breakfast on ZED 101.9 FM, Mr Wiafe warned that the continued destruction of water bodies and forests poses an existential threat to the country.
“The galamsey situation has threatened the support systems that sustain our very existence, our water bodies, forests and more. Researchers have warned that in the next 20 to 50 years, if care is not taken, Ghana will be importing water,” he said.
The legal practitioner described the images and videos of polluted rivers and degraded forests as alarming and cautioned that Ghanaians cannot afford to treat the matter lightly.
He acknowledged that successive governments have introduced measures to fight illegal mining but questioned their effectiveness.
“The question is whether those steps are yielding the desired results. If you ask me, my answer will be no. And I think I will not be alone in that,” Mr Wiafe stated.
He cited calls from various groups, including the Catholic Bishops Conference, for a stronger national response, adding that a state of emergency may be the only viable option.
The legal practitioner noted that the 1992 Constitution under Articles 31 and 32, as well as the Emergency Powers Act of 1994 (Act 472), provide the legal basis for declaring a state of emergency in Ghana.
Mr Wiafe defined an emergency as a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, and emphasised that urgent intervention is needed to prevent further devastation.
“What we are faced with is getting dire by the day. It will be in order for government to step in and declare a state of emergency,” he stressed.
The legal practitioner added that while a state of emergency may temporarily suspend some rights and freedoms, it is justified when the very survival of the nation’s natural resources and people are at stake.
