Galamsay: 8 Health Union Bodies Urge Akufo-Addo To Ban small-scale mining now

Eight (8) health unions and associations including the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) have sent an SOS message to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo urging him to immediately ban all small-scale mining operations, whether legal or illegal as a matter of urgency.

This comes in the wake of increasing destruction of the country’s forest reserves and pollution of water bodies, along with the serious public health and environmental threats posed by individuals and organizations involved in illegal mining, also known as galamsey.

Other members of the unions and associations making this appeal include, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA), and the Health Services Workers Union of Ghana (TUC).

Other signatories to the statement are the Medical Laboratory Professional Workers’ Union (MELPWU), the Mortuary Workers’ Association of Ghana (MOWAG), the Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anesthetists (GACRA), the Health Accounting Staff Association (HASAG), and the Ghana Physician Assistants Association (GPAA).

In a statement issued on Friday September 6, 2024, the groups warned that Ghana is on the brink of an environmental catastrophe that, if not addressed immediately, will severely endanger the health, well-being, and future of its citizens.

“Therefore, we as Associations and Trade Unions in the health sector holding collective bargaining certificates on behalf of health sector employees make the following demands: The President of the Republic of Ghana should direct a total ban on small-scale mining operations with immediate effect, whether legal or illegal.”

“The government of Ghana should strengthen regulatory enforcement by resourcing the relevant security agencies to clamp down on all persons who flout this directive and prosecute them expeditiously.

“All political parties should make a public declaration and publish a duly signed document on their commitment to fight illegal and unethical mining activities in Ghana,” they stated.