…Warns Ghana Faces Environmental Catastrophe without Urgent Action
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has issued a strong warning about Ghana’s escalating illegal mining (galamsey) crisis, describing it as a ticking environmental time bomb that demands urgent and decisive national action.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, as the House resumed sittings, the Effutu MP painted a grim picture of the country’s environmental degradation, lamenting the scale of destruction caused by unregulated mining.
“Speaker, our rivers run brown with pollution, vast tracts of once fertile land lie scarred and toxic, and many of our citizens in mining communities face illness and danger from poisonous chemicals,” Afenyo-Markin declared. “We have talked about illegal mining for years, yet the problem has only grown worse. Time for mere talk is over.”
He stressed that it was time for visionary and coordinated action among government, Parliament, and local authorities to halt and reverse the devastation. According to him, Ghana’s environmental future—and that of generations to come—hangs in the balance.
The Minority Leader reminded the House that the country had long been warned about the dangers of illegal mining, recalling Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s 2010 investigative documentary that exposed the corruption and human suffering underpinning the galamsey trade.
His remarks come amid rising public concern over the continued destruction of major water bodies such as the Pra, Ankobra, and Offin Rivers, many of which have turned brown due to heavy metal contamination and siltation from illegal mining.
Afenyo-Markin’s call is expected to rekindle bipartisan debate in Parliament on the effectiveness of anti-galamsey efforts and the need for a comprehensive, nonpartisan national framework to protect Ghana’s natural resources.
