The Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) has strongly condemned the rampant and irresponsible destruction of the nation’s water bodies, forest cover, and environment due to illegal mining activities, known as “Galamsey”. PRINPAG sees this environmental devastation, driven by greed, as a grave threat to the well-being of the Ghanaian people and the future of the country.
Given the seriousness and devastating nature of the menace, PRINPAG’s leadership is calling on all its members to join the national crusade against galamsey activities, which can serve as a recipe for disaster if not addressed immediately. The association urges its members to take a firm and dispassionate stand against the practice as part of the collective effort to stop this menace, which has become a significant threat to the survival of communities and the preservation of natural resources and the environment.
As part of PRINPAG’s commitment to this cause, the association is encouraging all its members to expose individuals and groups who are complicit in these illegal activities. Members are urged to publish the names and pictures of those involved in galamsey on the front pages of their newspapers and to give these prominences on their news websites, holding these social miscreants and deviants accountable to the public.
PRINPAG also calls on Parliament to demonstrate leadership in this fight, as exemplified by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and to act without partisanship, considering only the long-term welfare of the nation. The leadership of PRINPAG believes that, with unity and focus, Ghana can win this fight against galamsey.
As a demonstration of their resolve to help curb the ongoing menace, PRINPAG members will actively engage in a “naming and shaming” campaign to expose all those involved in illegal mining activities in the country, regardless of their position or influence in society. This is a necessary step to ensure accountability and to show that no one is above the law.
While fully supporting the national effort to help curb this menace, PRINPAG is also issuing a stern warning to any member found to be directly involved in galamsey, as such individuals will be expelled from the Association in accordance with its Constitution. Additionally, any member who will be identified to have been financially or materially influenced in an attempt to sabotage the Association’s fight against galamsey will equally face expulsion from PRINPAG after being taken through the disciplinary procedures stated in the Constitution.
PRINPAG pledges its support to all activities of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining and urges its members across the country to support the efforts of the Coalition to help minimize the effects of the galamsey menace. The fight is a collective one, and PRINPAG pledges the readiness of its members to lend support to the national effort to help curb the menace.