Renowned economist Kwame Pianim has urged Ghanaian authorities to leverage digital tools like drones, apps, and even satellites to combat the illegal mining practice known as “galamsey.”
Expressing concern over the widespread destruction caused by illegal miners across various mining areas in the country, the NPP stalwart proposed the adoption of cutting-edge digital technologies that can aid in identifying galamsey hotspots, facilitating a more targeted and effective approach to eradicate this harmful practice and restore the integrity of Ghana’s water bodies and forest ecosystems.
Speaking at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Annual Leadership Lecture 2023, under the theme “Re-imagining Ghana’s Development Trajectory for a Peaceful Prosperous Nation by 2057,” Mr. Pianim advocated for the launch of a satellite into space to create a comprehensive digital map of Ghana, especially focusing on mining areas.
“An all-girls school in Kumasi prepares the software; KNUST held them and they arranged with the Space Programme of India and put up a satellite and have a digitalised map of Ghana so that it will be flashing red wherever galamsey is going on.
“So the Chief of Staff, the Minister for Lands, the CDS, the IGP, DCEs and nananom cannot feign ignorance or be complicit in the destruction of our environment.”
He also charged that “the destruction of our rivers, children born with deformities, and our cocoa exports being blocked because of cyanide residue” should be curtailed to secure and sustain the future of Ghana.
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