The founder of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Kenneth Ashigbey, has called the pollution of Ghana’s water bodies through illegal mining an act of “genocide.”

Speaking passionately on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, September 9, he did not mince words about the severe health hazards posed by the poisoning of water sources due to galamsey activities.

“What is happening currently is the poisoning of all of us,” Mr Ashigbey declared.

“If you have mass poisoning, mass killing of people, what do you call it? It is genocide, and the response to that is not what we are seeing.”

He noted the alarming levels of toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide found in water sources due to illegal mining.

“This isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s a matter of life and death,” he stressed.

“We’re dealing with a situation where entire communities are at risk of being poisoned, and yet the urgency to act is shockingly absent.”

Ken Ashigbey called for immediate and drastic measures to tackle the galamsey menace, including deploying the military to clear illegal miners from water bodies and buffer zones.

“The President needs to deploy the Air Force over those water bodies, get the Navy to flush them out, and the Army to take control on the ground,” he proposed.

“We need to stop this poisoning by the end of the year, or we’re looking at a crisis of genocidal proportions.”

He also demanded that political leaders, including former President John Mahama, Vice President and NPP flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and all other presidential candidates to publicly commit to addressing the galamsey crisis in their manifestos.

“We will hold them accountable to their promises,” Ken Ashigbey said, insisting that the fight against galamsey should be non-negotiable.

“We cannot be spectators while our people are being poisoned,” he added.

“It’s time for the President to make that press conference redundant by declaring a state of emergency over our water bodies.”

With Wednesday’s meeting on the horizon, Ashigbey expressed hope that this call to action would result in meaningful steps to combat what he has labelled as “genocide.”