The Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Kathleen Addy, has warned that if action is not taken to stop the illegal mining activities popularly known as ‘galamsey’, it will result in the complete dissolution of society

She said that Ghana is currently dealing with a serious existential terrorism danger in the country's Northern part, which can be linked to the activities of illegal miners.

“Another serious threat to our democracy and even to our very existence is the destruction of our environment, primarily through galamsey and also through deforestation. If we carry on with illegal mining as we are doing now, we will very soon not be too far from the debilitating wars fought in Sierra Leon and Liberia in the 90s. Those wars were fuelled partly by illegal mining through the warlords who were linked to the miners. Galamsey will eventually lead to a breakdown of law and order, proliferation of arms, emergence of warlords and a total breakdown of society,” she cautioned.

She used the examples of Liberia and Sierra Leone to show how warlords instigated a civil war which was facilitated by illegal mining while speaking at a press conference.

She added that the country has reached a vulnerable stage as a result of the monetization of democracy.

“Monetization of our democracy has contributed significantly to our current vulnerability and must be put to a stop,” she said.




AM/DA