Alexander Smith: Deception in uniform – Blue Water Guards launch is a smokescreen for gov’t inaction

The environment is not ours to destroy; it is a sacred trust handed down by our ancestors, one we are duty-bound to protect for the generations to come. Our rivers, forests, and lands are not just resources but the lifeblood of our nation, sustaining our people and defining our identity.

And yet, we stand on the precipice of ecological ruin because of greed, corruption, and a government that refuses to act with the urgency this crisis demands. As concerned citizens, we cannot sit idly by while our inheritance is plundered, our water poisoned, and our children’s future stolen.

The so-called launch of the Blue Water Guards for the fight against galamsey, led by the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah. (MP), yesterday, was nothing short of an insult to the intelligence of the Ghanaian people. In the face of an escalating environmental catastrophe, the government has once again chosen empty theatrics over decisive action.

It is both shameful and enraging that instead of treating the destruction of our water bodies and forests as a national emergency, we are being subjected to yet another ineffective bureaucracy that will do little to halt the crisis.

Let’s call this what it truly is—a blatant deception designed to mislead the public while the real crisis festers. The introduction of these so-called Water Guards under an ill-conceived Legislative Instrument (L.I) is nothing but a feeble and misguided attempt at placating a deeply frustrated public. This L.I must be repealed immediately!

While its intentions may be sound, its implementation is flawed and inadequate and does not address the core issue: enforcement. The real problem has never been a lack of personnel but the deep-seated corruption and complicity within the very institutions tasked with fighting galamsey.

Galamsey is not just an environmental concern; it is an existential threat. Communities are being poisoned by mercury-laced water, fertile farmlands are being decimated, and entire ecosystems are being erased from existence. And yet, rather than declaring this a national emergency and deploying the full weight of the state against illegal miners, the government has opted for a lackluster, performative approach that will achieve nothing.

What is needed is not another group of underfunded, poorly equipped, and potentially compromised ‘guards’ who will inevitably fall into the same cycle of corruption that has plagued previous anti-galamsey efforts. What is needed is the immediate classification of mining in rivers and forests as a matter of national security, with the military given the clear directive to treat perpetrators as economic saboteurs. There must be severe consequences for those complicit in this crime, including government officials who look the other way while our natural resources are looted for private gain.

If the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, and his government truly care about stopping galamsey, they must:

1. Repeal the ineffective L.I and replace it with a robust emergency decree that criminalizes mining in water bodies with severe penalties.
2. Deploy a fully empowered, corruption-proof task force with a clear mandate to arrest and prosecute offenders without interference from political or business interests.
3. Seize and immediately destroy all illegal mining equipment on site to deter further destruction.
4. Hold local authorities accountable, including chiefs and district officials who have been complicit in allowing galamsey to thrive.
5. Implement a nationwide campaign to expose and shame the financiers and political kingpins behind illegal mining operations.

The time for half-baked solutions and political gimmicks is over. Ghana is in the middle of an environmental war, and if the government refuses to take decisive action, history will remember them not as leaders but as enablers of one of the greatest ecological betrayals in our nation’s history.

In the likely event that the government fails to heed this call, we, the concerned and outraged citizens of this nation, will have no choice but to take to the streets in mass protest. We will march, we will demonstrate, and we will make our voices heard. We refuse to watch silently as our land is pillaged and our people suffer the consequences. This is our country, our future, and we will fight for it.

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Author of the article Alexander. K. Smith is the Team Lead, at Alkes Communications. He can reached on Mobile: +233(0) 244093553 and E-mail: alkesmith1994@gmail.com