Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu, Back From Elmina
Tuesday December 6, 2011
There appears to be relative calm at the Elmina Beach in the Central Region where it was rumoured recently that gold had been washed ashore in abundance.
The craze for gold brought in hundreds of prospectors in search of the precious mineral who within days ravaged the beach for gold.
The speed with which people from all over Ghana especially those in mining communities devastated the beaches of Elmina shocked many including government officials and environmental activist and it further exposed the lack of employment opportunities in the country.
The government, through the Minerals Commission, had no option than to drive out these scavengers.
Residents of Elmina say scavenging for gold nuggets started about a month ago following the dredging of the Benya Lagoon some years back, but the mad rush heightened when the media finally broke the news about the presence the precious mineral at the beach.
When the directive came on Thursday ordering the scavengers to halt their illegal mining activities and leave the scene, they reacted angrily by staging massive demonstration to protest the decision.
Minerals of any kind belong to the state but individuals with vested interests in the exploitation are first supposed to seek approval from the appropriate authorities before venturing into it.
It was however clear that majority of the scavengers were ignorant about the law.
The news about the presence of gold had forced people particularly residents to abandon all other economic and social activities, including fishing, in search of instant fortune but their hopes were dashed when they were ordered to stop.
When DAILY GUIDE visited Elmina last Friday, the directive to halt mining appeared to be in full force as no mining activities had taken place at least in the last 12 hours.
The scavengers had been evicted from the beach and it was obvious that some sort of mining activities had taken place leaving in its trail unnecessary destruction of the beach.
There were pockets of soldiers, police and other security agencies in town but not at the beach.
People, particularly the youth, were seen loitering at the beach and appeared to be ready to resume mining at the least chance.
Kwamena Bentil, a 29-year-old taxi driver, said he had stopped driving and joined the search for gold.
“The gold is real,” he said confidently “We spent five days at the beach in search of gold and we were able to find something. We sold it for GH¢1,400.”
“The whole thing started about one month ago but the residents did not know how to mine it properly until ‘galamsey’ operators from Tarkwa, Obuasi and other mining areas started trooping in. They showed us how to do it.”
Pockets of wells and hole were beginning to form around the Elmina Castle – one of Ghana’s leading tourism and heritage sites, but the strong tidal waves coming on shore make it look like there are no mining activities.
The rocks along the beach however exposed the illegal activities of the miners.
Apart from the gold mining activities, the widespread abuse of the environment surrounding the Castle leaves much to be desired. There is unbearable stench in the area as residents including women were seen openly defecating there.
As a result of these and other activities including the recent illegal mining, the Elmina Castle, now sits on time bomb.
Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, Executive Director of Wacam, a leading NGO fighting against irresponsible mining told DAILY GUIDE that mining along the beaches should never be permitted in any form by the government.
“It is a serious issue,” he said “if we allow it to go ahead, people will begin to look for gold and other precious mineral everywhere and it will spell environmental disaster for the country.”
He said the sea provides ready water for the mining activities and as a result, all sorts of waste including dangerous chemicals would be dumped into the sea to spark environmental disasters and carnage.
“Our beaches are going to be under severe attack if we do not come together to raise the alarm. What is happening in Elmina shows clearly that we are losing control over regulation of our natural resources and actors in the extractive sector whether legal or illegal.”
According to Mr. Owusu-Koranteng, “They are placing premium on revenues generated from mining without considering the negative environmental impact. If the state can allow mining in restricted areas and other forest reserves it sends wrong signals.”
“If the state thinks that wherever we find gold or other precious minerals we should mine it then it will send wrong signals to citizens to behave the same way.”
“We are the same country crying about the depletion of our forest cover yet according to International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Ghana comes third after Togo and Nigeria as countries that are fast depleting their forest cover.”
The WACAM boss said the report showed that any country that has a rate of depletion of its forest cover more than one per cent is in danger, stressing that Ghana’s rate of 2.19 per cent, is far above what is required.
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