A professor on the College for Development Research, Professor Jasper Abembia Ayelazuno, has said that counstrive’s incapacity to cease unlawful mining is due to not an absence of legal guidelines or establishments, however to the existence of a strong “shadow state” that protects and sustains the trade.
He mentioned the shadow state comprises political actors, financial elites, international financiers, and compromised state establishments, all of whom function in a clandestine community that mimics state authority however serves personal pursuits.
Prof Ayelazuno made the statement in Accra yesterday through the launch of a brand new ebook he co-authored titled “The State Seize within the Militarised Battle towards
Unlawful Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana.”
The ebook which coated the interval 2017 to 2024 was collectively written with the late Dr Maxwell Akansina Aziabah, former Senior Lecturer on the Division of Group Improvement on the College of Enterprise and Integrated Improvement Research, Wa.
He defined that unlawful mining in Ghana was not merely an environmental concern however a symptom of a deeper structural malaise rooted in state seize.
“Galamsey is sustained by a posh net of political actors, financial elites, international financiers, and regulators, which this ebook describes because the shadow state,” he mentioned.
In response to him, the answer to the galamsey menace lied in dismantling this shadow state by daring political management, establishmental reforms, and safety for civil society actors.
He warned that failure to interrupt the maintain of this covert energy structure would render all anti-galamsey efforts ineffective.
Citing examples, Prof Ayelazuno pointed to the controversial Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462, which permitted mining in forest reserves, as proof of elite manipulation of state coverage for private acquire.
He additionally talked about investigative stories which uncovered how some army personnel shield personal mining pursuits somewhat than enforcing the legislation.
Prof Ayelazuno criticised the federal government’s failure to revoke L.I. 2462 and known as for the declaration of a state of emergency in areas affected by unlawful mining to set off pressing state response.
“Our rivers, together with the Pra, Offin and Ankobra, stay polluted with mercury and cyanide, posing extreme well being and ecological threats,” he lamented.
Prof Ayelazuno mentioned militarised operations comparable to Operation Vanguard and Operation Halt had not addressed the foundation causes of galamsey and solely strengthened the shadow state.
He urged President John Dramani Mahama to pursue a brand new path grounded in democratic accountskill, environmental safety, and the formalisation of small-scale mining
Prof Ayelazuno expressed gratitude to the Third World Community-Africa (TWN-Africa) for sponsoring the launch of the ebook, including that the explored within the ebook had been first incubated able paper commissioned by TWN-Africa in 2017, which the primary writer wrote to tell their advocacy on the militarized battle towards galamsey.
Prof Ayelazuno additionally paid glowing tribute to the late Dr Aziabah for the immense position he performed within the writing of the ebook.
An Affiliate Professor on the College of Ghana Enterprise, Prof Abdulai Abdul Gafaru, who reviewed the ebook, lauded the 2 authors of the ebook, saying it was probably the most complete ebook on galamsey within the nation.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
