Vice Chairman of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Ken Tweneboah Kodua, has slammed the government over its reply to calls for a temporary ban on all small-scale mining in the country in light of the galamsey menace.

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, had said that gold accounts for 54% of the country's foreign exchange earnings, with small-scale mining contributing 40% of the gold output.

A ban, he argued, would deplete foreign exchange earnings by 40% and be catastrophic for the economy.

However, during an interview with Joy News on September 14, 2024, Ken Tweneboah Kodua strongly criticised the minister's stance.

He emphasised that the focus should be on the lives and health of Ghanaians rather than foreign exchange earnings.

Kodua argued that the dangers posed by chemicals used in mining, the depletion of water resources, and the pollution of food are far more critical issues than revenue and exchange rates.

"Are we putting our lives and everything at stake on foreign exchange? Is that what the government is saying? When we have the danger of Ghanaians losing their lives due to the chemicals being used. We are in danger of not having water to drink. The food that we are eating is being polluted with these chemicals?

“This argument is far below the belt. The discussion should not be on revenue and exchange rate or income, it should be on the lives of the people of Ghana.

"The money coming in is to manage the people. What will be its use when we have a lot of burdens? Government must listen to the people," Kodua stated.

He also called for a comprehensive audit of all mining operations to ensure that only those operating responsibly and without polluting the environment are allowed to continue.

"I hear people say that there are companies that have licences and so they should be exempted. Why don't you halt everyone and do a holistic audit and find out those who have licences, are operating without polluting the waters and are outside the forest reserves? he said.

He reiterated the threat by organised labour, including the TUC, to embark on a nationwide strike if the galamsey crisis is not addressed by the end of September.

"TUC and organised labour as a whole, our call is very clear. You must halt everything and then come and see how we can make progress.

"I want to assure the minister that, come the date we have set, TUC will not back down on its call, we will do the needful," he concluded.

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