By: Michael Petit Mawugbe (Efo Mawugbe)
For over a decade, Ghana’s fight against galamsey has followed a familiar script: bold declarations, inter-ministerial committees, military operations, and then a quiet relapse making the whole galamsey fight a flash in a pan.
Minister designate for Environment Science and Technology, Dr. Zanetor Rawlings
Rivers stay brown, forest reserves shrink, and Ghana Water Limited continues to lament the pollution of its treatment plants owing to galamsey.
The appointment of a 3- term Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle, Dr. Zanetor Rawlings as Minister for Environment Science and technology is however is expectee to truncate that narrative due to her bold and passionate stance on environment and by extension galamsey.
There is now, for the first time in years, reason to believe the fight can be won with complimentary role Dr. Zanetor Rawlings will be playing side by side the Lands Minister.
It would be recalled that Previous governments tried to manage galamsey through ad hoc committees. President Akufo-Addo, for example, set up a 5-member ministerial committee led by Kan-Dapaah and later a 10-member Inter-Ministerial Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to assess the fight. These committees were considered as knee-jerk as they became structure without teeth.
President Mahama’s decision to appoint the daughter of Former President Rawlings is however an indication that he is committed to the fight against galamsey.
The Osu Rosalinda as she is affectionately called, Dr. Zanetor is filling that vacuum not by chance but a politically decisive straregy to strongly aid the Lands Minister to combat what has been termed by Environmentalists as Environmental terrorism against the nation by greedy individuals.
Given the scope of her ministerial role, and her strong stance on flooding the 3- term would develop policies and initiated actions to further mitigate flooding in the capital of not nip flooding in the bud.
source:www.senaradioonline.com
