info@businessghana.com
Challenging Heights has urged the government of Ghana to fully implement the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development (RCOMSDE) Program, in honor of Dr. Edward Omane Boamah (Minister for Defense), Honorable Alhaji Dr. Murtala Muhammed (Minister for Environment, Science and Technology), and the six others who lost their lives in Wednesday's fatal Ghana Air Force helicopter crash near Obuasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana. This tragic loss of lives, while en route to the launch of the anti-illegal mining initiative, serves as a stark reminder, of the need for urgent action against illegal mining.
There is sufficient evidence to show that the negative impact of illegal mining extends far beyond environmental degradation. Beyond the threat of death, children in these areas endure back-breaking work, handle toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide without protection, and suffer from chronic respiratory illnesses, mercury poisoning, and long-term disabilities. The emotional and psychological scars run deep, and without access to education, they are trapped in a cycle of poverty.
Just a week ago Challenging Heights in partnership with the Ghana Police Service rescued 25 young girls who were trafficked from Nigeria and forced into prostitution in an illegal mining site in the Western Region of Ghana. Earlier this year eight illegal miners lost their lives in a standoff with the military in Obuasi. Challenging Heights has since been supporting the children and the families the victims left behind.
The pollution of major rivers like the Pra, Ankobra, and Birim with toxic chemicals poses a serious threat to public health and the environment, risking a future of severe water scarcity and a rise in chronic diseases. As a nation, we cannot in good conscience stand by while this destructive practice steals our very foundations.
We urge the government to honor the memory of the ministers and their colleagues by fully implementing comprehensive and urgent strategies, which must include strengthening Law enforcement, vigorously prosecute those who employ children in illegal mining, ensure every child has access to quality education and strengthen social protection programs to prevent families from resorting to child labor, provide medical, psychological, and educational support to children rescued from mining sites, and finally tackle the economic factors that drive individuals and families into illegal mining through the RCOMDSDE program.
Let the memory of those we have regrettably lost be the fuel for intensified, unwavering action. Let us stand united in our commitment to protect our children and the environment from the devastating consequences of illegal mining and build a brighter future for all.
James Kofi Annan
(President of Challenging Heights)
