{"id":88673,"date":"2025-08-07T17:26:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T17:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=88673"},"modified":"2025-08-07T17:26:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T17:26:54","slug":"dear-president-john-mahama-declare-a-state-of-emergency-to-end-galamsey-menace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=88673","title":{"rendered":"Dear President John Mahama: Declare a State of Emergency to end galamsey menace"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 22 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><div>\n<p>Dear President John Dramani Mahama,<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday, August 6, 2025, will be etched in our collective memory as yet another dark and dreadful day in Ghana\u2019s history\u2014much like 24th July 2012, when we lost our late President, John Evans Atta Mills.<\/p>\n<p>On what should have been an ordinary Wednesday, the nation was thrown into mourning with the heartbreaking news of a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of eight patriotic citizens. These were not just names on a manifest\u2014they were Ghanaian leaders on a mission to champion responsible mining and push back the tide of destruction caused by illegal small-scale mining, otherwise known as galamsey.<\/p>\n<p>Their mission was noble, urgent, and necessary. And now, it has ended in tragedy.<\/p>\n<p>Among the fallen are:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dr. Edward Omane Boamah<\/strong>, Minister of Defence<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed<\/strong>, Minister for Environment, Science and Technology<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alhaji Muniru Mohammed Limuna<\/strong>, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dr. Samuel Sarpong<\/strong>, Vice Chairman of the NDC and former Ashanti Regional Minister<\/li>\n<li><strong>Samuel Aboagye<\/strong>, Deputy Director-General of the Disaster Relief Agency<\/li>\n<li><strong>Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala<\/strong>, Pilot<\/li>\n<li><strong>Flying Officer Manaen Twum-Ampadu<\/strong>, Co-pilot<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah<\/strong>, Aircrew<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These eight brave men\u2014now remembered across the country as <strong>#The8<\/strong>\u2014paid the ultimate price in pursuit of a vision many have long spoken about but too few have acted on: a Ghana free from the grip of galamsey.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. President, this is not just a tragic accident. This is a national alarm bell, violently rung. A call to action. A reckoning.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why You Must Declare a State of Emergency<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The galamsey crisis has long spiraled out of control. What once began as an economic survival mechanism has now mutated into a complex, dangerous web of environmental destruction, corruption, and violence. Despite taskforces, media campaigns, and political declarations, illegal mining continues to ravage our rivers, poison our lands, and erode the soul of the nation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But today, it took eight lives. Eight visionaries. Eight lives Ghana cannot replace.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A State of Emergency, Mr. President, is no longer an option\u2014it is a necessity. And here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n<p>The galamsey menace is now literally costing lives. While communities near mining zones have long suffered the silent deaths of mercury poisoning, river contamination, and poor crop yields, the death of these eight high-profile leaders should awaken the nation to the scale of the threat.<\/p>\n<p>Our rivers\u2014Ankobra, Pra, Offin, and Birim\u2014are unrecognizable. What once gave life now bears only sludge. The Ghana Water Company has already raised concerns about the rising cost of water treatment. This is no longer an isolated issue\u2014it is national collapse in slow motion.<\/p>\n<p>Illegal mining has become militarized. Armed groups, foreign actors, and underground networks are now embedded in our forests. From smuggled excavators to gun-toting syndicates, galamsey has become an ecosystem of lawlessness.<\/p>\n<p>From district assemblies to local police and even portions of the judiciary, enforcement efforts are routinely undermined. A State of Emergency would activate special powers that bypass bureaucratic paralysis and bring about decisive enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>The deaths of Dr. Omane Boamah, Dr. Murtala, and the rest of #The8 must not become \u201cjust another sad story.\u201d Declaring a State of Emergency would signal to the nation and the world that Ghana is serious. That these lives were not lost in vain. That we will fight back\u2014with resolve and direction.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. President, this is your moment. You are not just Ghana\u2019s leader\u2014you are now the bearer of this nation\u2019s pain. You must rise above partisanship, bureaucracy, and convenience to do the right thing. Declare a State of Emergency\u2014not out of fear, but out of duty.<\/p>\n<p>Let their final journey not end in silence. Let it spark a movement. Let it mark the beginning of the end for galamsey.<\/p>\n<p>Do it for the families grieving tonight.<\/p>\n<p>Do it for the school child drinking poisoned water.<\/p>\n<p>Do it for the farmer with no land left to till.<\/p>\n<p>Do it for the memory of #The8.<\/p>\n<p>Do it for Ghana.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"88673\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Happy                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                              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src=\"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/surprise.svg\" alt=\"Surprise\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">Surprise<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                                                                        <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n    ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myjoyonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Illegal-mining-galamsey-4-754x424-2-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Dear President John Mahama: Declare a State of Emergency to end galamsey menace\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dear President John Mahama: Declare a State of Emergency to end galamsey menace\">On what should have been an ordinary Wednesday, the nation was thrown into mourning with the heartbreaking news of a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of eight patriotic citizens. These were not just names on a manifest\u2014they were Ghanaian leaders on a mission to champion responsible mining and push back the tide of destruction caused by illegal small-scale mining, otherwise known as galamsey.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196,477,10,9,1155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-galamsey","category-opinion","category-politics","category-popular","category-president-john-mahama"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}