Renowned Ghanaian broadcaster, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah (KKD), has once again sparked a fervour of discussion with his unfiltered and candid remarks.
During his appearance on the Joy News AM Show with host Benjamin Akakpo on Monday, 29th May 2023, KKD passionately voiced his concerns over what he perceives as a lack of attention from the Akufo-Addo administration towards the use of cyanide in illegal mining activities, commonly known as galamsey, in Ghana.
Cyanide and mercury are hazardous substances widely employed in illegal mining operations. They have posed significant environmental and health risks to the country’s natural resources and people’s well-being.
The host who interrogated KKD on the performance of the Akufo-Addo administration, as well as several other economic and social issues, brought up a conversation about galamsey and the use of hazardous chemicals in the mining process.
In an effort to address these issues on fair grounds, Mr. Akakpo mentioned that the government has introduced the gold catch-up programme, targeting the use of cyanide. However, KKD questioned the effectiveness of such measures.
KKD expressed his concern that the government was not doing enough to regulate the use of cyanide and other harmful chemicals used in galamsey. To him such practices essentially mean that, “now we are killing people for gold.”
The severity of the situation, according to Benjamin Akakpo, has reached a point where even the Ghana National Fire Service is encountering challenges in providing water to extinguish fires caused by galamsey activities. The widespread pollution has rendered water sources murky, prompting concerns from the fire service.
“…it is becoming so destructive that the Ghana National Fire Service has said that even water, it’s got to the point where it’s so murky in some places that the Ghana National Fire Service is struggling to get water to douse fires, it’s got to the point where a professor at the KNUST is saying you know is saying we’re having children with deformities so many things are happening, and they are more exposed,” the host contributed.
KKD further highlighted the implications on water quality, as Ghana Water asserts that treating the contaminated water has become increasingly expensive. The escalating costs of purification may soon render drinking water unaffordable for the affected communities.
“Ghana water is saying the water is getting so bad it’s getting too expensive to treat it to make it potable. So very soon water will be too expensive to drink. The people going to the galamsey sites are buying bottled water to take there,” he lamented.
Expressing his frustration, KKD condemned the ‘selfishness’, ‘greed’, and ‘irresponsibility’ exhibited by those in positions of authority. He urged Ghanaians to awaken to the realization that elected officials should possess not only knowledge but also goodwill and compassion. Without these qualities, he argued, individuals should not be chosen for leadership roles.
“So if I talk of this selfishness and greed and total irresponsibility in positions of authority Ghanaians must wake up and understand that when we elect people we choose them as our brothers as our kinsmen who have some knowledge, but we also have goodwill and compassion to come and serve. If they don’t have knowledge we shouldn’t choose them at all.”
KKD emphasized that the pursuit of wealth, avarice, and material gain should not overshadow the genuine needs and concerns of the populace. He called for a collective voice against injustice and greed, as remaining silent would only allow the few greedy individuals to prosper while the majority of the needy continue to suffer.
“If they don’t have knowledge, we shouldn’t choose them at all. But if they have knowledge, but they have no compassion, if they have knowledge, but they have no wisdom, and if they have knowledge, but they are not truthful, and if they have knowledge but all they are worrying about is their wealth and their avarice and greed so that they can fly in an aeroplane that they cannot afford and within three months of flying in that expensive aeroplane all of a sudden we realize we have no money. And we are all sitting there like you can’t be angry,” KKD said with visible distaste.
The gold catch-up programme in Ghana is an initiative of the Bank of Ghana to buy domestically produced gold from selected gold aggregators and mining firms and pay in local currency at the prevailing market price.
The gold catch up programme in Ghana is related to cyanide because cyanide is one of the chemicals used to extract gold from ore by some mining firms that participate in the programme.
According to the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, cyanide leaching is a process that dissolves gold from ore using a dilute solution of sodium cyanide.
Cyanide is a rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can dissolve gold from low-grade ore. It is commonly used in leaching processes where cyanide solution is sprayed over huge heaps of crushed ore or mixed with ore in large tanks. Cyanide can cause environmental and health impacts if released into water sources or soil. Cyanide use in gold mining requires careful management and control to prevent these impacts.