Hundreds of Ghanaians, most of them university students, protested on the streets of the capital city Accra on Thursday to demand an immediate halt to illegal mining.
The demonstrators, who plan to stage rallies for three days, are also demanding the release of 54 activists detained last month for demonstrating against illegal mining.
The government’s handling of illegal mining — particularly its impact on natural resources and rural livelihoods — has become a flashpoint issue in the run-up to the West African country’s presidential elections in December.
“If our leaders don’t take action now, future generations will pay the price,” Delali Asante, a student at the University of Ghana, told AFP.
Chanting the Ghanaian national anthem and singing patriotic songs, the protesters, draped in red and black attire, danced through the streets of the capital.
Many of the protesters displayed bottles of polluted water from the Pra and Birim rivers, two of the biggest in the west African nation, to highlight the devastating environmental impact of illegal mining.
Many Ghanaians depend on the polluted rivers for daily supply of drinking water.
“Our water bodies are being destroyed, and soon we’ll have nothing left,” Asante said. “We can’t drink gold, and we can’t grow crops on poisoned land”.
“We cannot sit by and watch as our rivers and water bodies are poisoned with mercury,” said protest leader Henry Tagoe. “Illegal mining is destroying our environment and our future.”
Labour unions said they will begin a nationwide strike October 10 to force authorities to take urgent action.
Protesters are also demanding the release of 54 members of the Democracy Hub pressure group who were arrested on 22 and 23 September for blocking roads and burning tyres, and remanded in custody for two weeks, prompting outrage from the public and politicians.
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Ghana, a country of 33 million people, is a major gold and cocoa producer.
Since 2022 it has been struggling with an economic crisis and rampant inflation that have led it to default on its foreign debt.
Economic woes have encouraged a growing number of cocoa producers to sell their lands to illegal mining outfits.
In addition to gobbling up agricultural land, illegal mining, which uses chemicals to extract the gold, has polluted rivers and water tables.
“We will not stop until we see real change,” Tagoe vowed. “This is not just about us. This is about protecting Ghana’s future.”
