The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has issued an ultimatum to government, threatening a nationwide strike by the end of September 2024 if a total ban on illegal mining aka \u201cgalamsey,\u201d is not imposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a strongly worded statement, UTAG criticised state-led efforts to combat illegal mining, or \u201cgalamsey,\u201d describing them as \u201cfailed and corruption-infested militarized battles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Association lamented the severe damage caused by illegal mining activities, including the destruction of over 2.5 million hectares of forest cover, a 35% rise in respiratory diseases in mining areas, and a projected cost of $2.3 billion annually to the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the current trajectory continues, Ghana may be forced to import potable water within six years,\u201d UTAG warned, underscoring the urgency of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to UTAG, illegal mining poses a significant threat to the nation\u2019s future. Already, cocoa productivity has declined by 45% this year, and illegal mining is estimated to cost the economy $2.3 billion annually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the Ghana Health Service has reported a 35% rise in respiratory diseases in mining areas, attributed to harmful chemical toxins such as mercury, arsenic, and lead found in local water bodies and soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Association called on all Ghanaians to support its demand for a complete ban on all forms of small-scale mining, stating that previous government initiatives, such as Operation Vanguard and Operation Flashout, have been \u201cmonumental failures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s unite as a nation to protect the little we have left, safeguard the future of our youth, and chart a sustainable path to development,\u201d UTAG urged, calling on all Ghanaians to support the demand for a complete ban on mining in sensitive areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Association emphasised its readiness to use \u201cevery constitutionally available tool\u201d to ensure compliance, including joining forces with other labour unions for decisive action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should the government fail to act by the end of September, UTAG warns it will embark on a nationwide industrial action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur lives depend on this,\u201d the Association stated, underscoring the urgency of their call to #BANgalamsey and \u201cban it for good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has issued an ultimatum to government, threatening a nationwide strike by the end of September 2024 if a total ban on illegal mining aka \u201cgalamsey,\u201d is not imposed. In a strongly worded statement, UTAG criticised state-led efforts to combat illegal mining, or \u201cgalamsey,\u201d describing them as \u201cfailed and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":37001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43,1],"tags":[1079,8348,946,8982,1384,10391,11337,8116,5196,11638,3577,5556,192,12502,2264,11537,12634,10321,11577,12138,1828,3874,7795,5818,6741,214,11530,11570,8869,12177,5784],"class_list":["post-43831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-aka","tag-ban","tag-cocoa","tag-combat","tag-corruption","tag-declined","tag-demand","tag-destruction","tag-economy","tag-forced","tag-future","tag-galamsey","tag-ghana","tag-ghanaians","tag-government","tag-harmful","tag-health","tag-illegal","tag-illegal-mining","tag-import","tag-labour","tag-lead","tag-mining","tag-strike","tag-teachers","tag-university","tag-university-teachers-association-of-ghana-utag","tag-utag","tag-water","tag-water-bodies","tag-youth"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43831"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43832,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43831\/revisions\/43832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}