INTRODUCTION.
Whoever follows the media will easily admit that the issue of galamsey has been on the front burner in recent weeks. It won’t be productive to recount all the fallouts that have come from this renewed call, especially when the issues have dominated media agenda setting. Whatever the reason for this intense call, it appears the political season has fully stoked the embers for this intense advocacy. Admittedly, political periods, such as the 2024 elections, are times a lot of these advocacies get to head. During these periods, people in authority, seeking to avoid the disdain of their potential voters are more accommodating and mendable to public sentiments than any other ordinary day.
CRUX OF MY ARGUMENT
While there is no doubt that the bargaining power that elections give to the voters is what is taking the calls for a ban on illegal mining a notch further, it is also noteworthy that these advocates must do more to get their messages to the people involved in galamsey, beyond government.
IMPUNITY OF THE GALAMSEYERS
Whoever has followed the intense conversation on galamseyer will appreciate the level of adamance of some of the young men and women recruited to this illegal acts. I have cited several videos of these young people calling the bluff of the people in authority and sometimes subjecting the President to all forms of unprintable representation. Yesterday, I watched a video of two young women saying they wouldn’t stop their operations even if they were given billions of cedis. Given the level of impunity and impudence with which these people talk, I am inclined into believing that they have become so accustomed to this act that they would be prepared to trade even their lives for it. While some believe that this loud showing of impunity could be because these individuals have the backing of persons within the corridors of power, I do not believe that such arguments end the matter. In my estimation, we need to treat these individuals as having been addicted to this act, the same way people get addicted to drugs, betting and other vices. This issue is more sociological, beyond the political undercurrents that fuel them, hence my call for advocates to look beyond people in authority.
SOCIAL /BEHAVIORIAL CHANGE COMMUNICATION
Once we extend the arguments and blame beyond government, we will realize the need for a robust social/behavioral change communication effort, one that will serve to warn these perpetrators against the harmful impact of their activities. Truly these galamseyer are direct and first-hand victims of their own activities and the earlier they are educated the better. We need community-based grass root communications and educations that bring these persons to terms with the harm that they are causing to themselves and the people they love. Treating this issue within the realm of politics will blind us from seeing the other socio-cultural dimensions to the issue. We will need these communication campaigns to feature some of these who have faced, at first hand, the sour taste of their activities. From how people have lost their lives, to how some of these activities have maimed others, showing real-life empirical evidence will equally play a major role in stemming this galamsey tide.
CONCLUSION
In this piece, I have called for a more grassroot approach to dealing with the galamsey menace. Except the advocates have other parochial reasons for targeting people within the corridors of powers, I have taken a view that they can take more pragmatic steps beyond issuing ultimatum to authorities, protesting and sometimes making some unwarranted pronouncements. While I applaud their advocacy, I want to see them mobilize resources to engage in educational social/behavioral change campaigns within communities where these issues persist. By showing that this intense advocacy is not politically motivated, as some political actors construe it to be, I am convinced these advocates can curry the support and buy-in of people in government. I advocate for this approach as a substitute to the confrontational and belligerent approaches to this call that have served to rather incur the disdain and sometimes the bluff of people with power. beyond the politics, arrests, demonstrations and legislations, let’s also pay attention to the other socio-cultural dimensions to the menace.
#King of Comms
Media/Communications Consultant