The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Digital Centres (GDCL), Christine Ansong, has urged the youth to pursue opportunities in the digital space as a substitute to illegal small-scale mining, known as galamsey.

The latter, Ms. Ansong says, is eroding the future of the country and that of generations to come, while digital jobs are the gateway to competing in the 21st century.

“Going into the forests and depleting our reserves and polluting our water bodies harms all of us. It erodes your own future as well because these natural resources are needed for our collective survival,” Ms. Ansong noted.

The Deputy CEO of GDCL stressed that, instead of galamsey, the youth should prioritise leveraging digital platforms and tech opportunities being rolled out by the government as a means of sustainable employment.

“Last week, I was in Nigeria with other officials for the launch of GITEX Nigeria which is the first of its kind in the sub-region. We showcased some innovations from Ghana and urge more of the youth to join the tech industry.”

Ms. Ansong was speaking on the back of JoyNews’ Newsfile discussion on galamsey on Saturday.

President John Mahama had earlier reiterated the government’s commitment to fighting the menace in an interaction with the media but insisted declaring a state of emergency would be a last resort.

Backing the President, Ms. Ansong noted that the government is fully committed to ending the destruction of natural resources by irresponsible mining and that the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) is the key.