The founder and leader of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Akua Donkor, is advocating for local dialects to be used in sensitizing people about illegal mining, known in local parlance as galamsey.
According to her, most of the small-scale miners are not fluent English speakers hence the need to use local languages in sensitizing them on the issue.
“What I want to say is that all that he [President Akufo-Addo] has said, he has to say them again. He has to reorganize the programme [National Dialogue on Small Scale Mining] again because those who mine the gold, none of them understands English,” she suggested.
The two-time presidential aspirant said although some of the miners would have tuned in to the programme, they would not understand the forum.
Commending the media for their role in the galamsey fight, Akua Donkor said the media should also do well in using local languages in spreading messages against the practice.
“Let’s speak our language,” she reiterated.
Background
A two-day National Consultative Dialogue on small-scale mining begun on Wednesday, April 14, and ended on Thursday, April 15, at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The purpose of the forum was to solicit views, proposals, and suggestions from diverse stakeholders in the small-scale mining industry, to develop appropriate policy interventions for the sector.
The Dialogue was organised by the Forestry Commission under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
The event was graced by President Akufo-Addo, Lands and Natural Minerals Minister, Samuel Jinapor, Chief of Staff, Frema Opare and many other dignitaries.