Ghana's Illegal Gold Mining - A National Security Concern

9th Dec 2022 | Source: WaxPrint Media

As a part of it's ongoing Public Lecture series on topics that are impacting communities in Ghana, Webster University -Ghana Campus, in partnership with the Office of the Diaspora Affairs, is hosting a conversation to critically analyze the galamsey menace as a security threat to the state of Ghana.

The illegal and unregulated mining of gold in Ghana (popularly known as galamsey) threaten the environmental and social unity of the country. Economically, the government of Ghana is losing revenue from the gold mining sector, largely because illegally mined gold is smuggled out of the country.

Galamsey activities are also destroying cocoa farms, the critical cash crop that generates foreign exchange for Ghana as well as large scale forest reserves, rivers and other water bodies which serve as sources of potable water for communities especially in the mining areas.

Ghana's physical security is under threat as illegal miners have utilized force and violence to defend their activities.

Webster Ghana's Public Lecture on the topic of galamsey will contribute to the search for a sustainable solution to the problem and will focus on the following broad themes with expert speakers:

1.What are the damages caused by galamsey and what are the driving forces?

2.What is the stance of traditional leaders in the galamsey fight?

3.What are the national security implications of galamsey in Ghana?

4.What policy strategy is government adopting to sustainably combat galamsey?

Date: Thursday, 8 December

Time: 5:30pm

Location: Webster University Ghana Campus, Lagos Avenue Accra

East Legon (Behind Media Pharmacy)

Meet the Speakers!

Larry Gbevlo-Lartey Esq. is the former African Union Special Representative for Counter-Terrorism Cooperation and Director of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT/CAERT). He was Ghana's former National Security Coordinator and is currently the Executive Chairman of Human Security Research Center Ghana. (HSRCGh)

Nana Tabono Bonsu III is the 13th occupant of the Tabono Bonsu Stool in Asante Akyem Akyease of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nana holds a BSc. Business Administration Degree from the University of Ghana and holds an MBA from Swiss Management Centre University, a postgraduate certificate in Project Management from GIMPA and Public Sector Leadership training under DANIDA Fellowship Program at University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

In 2019, Nana was honored to swear the Oath of Allegiance to Asantehene to become the 13th occupant of the Tabono Bonsu Stool in Asante Akyem Akyease of the Ashanti Region of Ghana.