Illegal mines, pollution and a thirsty global market: Anger mounts over Ghana's gold problem
Illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana has been linked with the destruction of the environment and illness. Now it could affect the election.
ACCRA, Ghana — Illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana has been linked with the destruction of the environment and illness. But for some, the practice known locally as galamsey provides livelihoods and an informal boost to the West African nation’s economy.
With a general election approaching in December, galamsey is proving to be a hot-button issue for the nation’s lawmakers — including President Nana Akufo-Addo — in the face of widespread demonstrations across the country calling for a crackdown on the practice.
In the nation’s capital, Accra, earlier this month, hundreds took to the streets for three days of protests, some carrying signs saying, “Greed is killing Ghana,” and, “Gold for the few, destruction for the many.”
Many carried bottles containing murky, brown water, a reference to the polluting of rivers and waterways in the country. Mercury and heavy metals have contaminated over 60% of the country’s water sources, according to Ghana’s Water Resources Commission.
“If you can drink it, you will stop this protest,” one of the protesters says in a video posted on social media by the activist group #StopGalamsey.
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