By: Modern Ghana

Ghana is facing a dire situation as illegal gold mining continues to ravage the country's environment, economy, and health. The devastating consequences of this illicit activity include polluted surface, groundwaters, surrounding sea from polluted rivers, contaminated soil, and toxic air in some areas.

The effects are far-reaching, with pollutants showing up in high levels in foods including fishes for local consumption and exports, and particularly in one of Ghana’s main cash crop - cocoa.

On the quantity side, with cocoa lands constantly lost to the illegal activities and the quality side levels of pollutants especially heavy metals in the cocoa beans. Both the Ghanaian and the global economies could suffer from imbalance in the global cocoa production levels given that Ghana is one of the main cocoa producers of the world as well as the rising levels of pollutants.

Note that the systems encircling the early are connected and some aquatic and land lives move around the globe given the changing seasons and weather conditions. Hence, issues on one side of the globe could be transported to the other side given the connected waters, air and moving lives, particularly animals.

The Economic Toll

The impacts of illegal mining given its many impacts categorizations including environmental, social, community, health, and psychological are all directly or indirectly linked to economic impacts being.

(1) loss of revenue and taxes, (2) economic instability and inflation, (3) corruption and money laundering, (4) environmental costs (clean-up and restoration), (5) health costs (medical treatment and lost productivity, (6) decreased economic opportunities (due to environmental degradation) and (7) risk that everything in/from Ghana is pollutants laden.

Illegal mining could cripple the Ghana's economy, particularly the cocoa industry, which is a backbone of the country's economy. The encroachment of mining activities on cocoa farms does not only lower the cocoa quality but reduces available lands for cultivation, hence, lower production quantity - jeopardizing the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and the loss of revenue from cocoa exports with a ripple effect on the entire Ghanaian economy while causing imbalance in the global supply to drive cocoa and associated product prices up. Quality issues could lead to lower cocoa demand since for some needs blending with less polluted substitutes such as oil is the way to go. In the worst, outright ban if the pollutants levels in cocoa are extremely high.

It is worth noting that, even if cocoa production is restored to production levels, the issue with the quality will still loom unless necessary steps are taken to lower the pollutants in affected areas. This could be a huge financial impacts or burden on Ghana.

On the one hand, cocoa is renewable and assuring a constant supply space out of revenue which the masses or the Ghanaian economy enjoys. On the other hand, gold is non-renewable, which given these illegal activities only are few are enjoying in the very few in the short term, while the masses or the Ghanaian economy will pay the price of suffer the impacts in the long term.

The question is - do the few wants to enjoy themselves in the short term at the detriment of masses in the long term or enjoy in the long-term knowing there is no pollution to harm you? It is worth noting that psychological impacts exist which will come to haunt many by just being unsure about what one has/is exposed to.

Something needs to be done about this immediately given the expected future huge consequences. Could this be contributory to why people are dying young? No one is immune and time is ticking.

Both health and psychology impacts associated with the illegal mining activities on Ghanaian include lower individual productivity. A country without well-being citizens with sound minds suffers. The rising kidney disease dealt with dialysis is only a treatment of the symptoms and not the source of the issue.

Ghana once called a global destination for many tourists could be a thing of the past. It would not attract many investors and industries which will deepen the existing unemployment situation and drive more illegal mining activities for the sake of solving the unemployment issues only to deepen the vicious cycle – which could be difficult to break allowing to persist indefinitely.

This is happening at a critical time where the stakes are high, however, a decisive and clear response is needed on the way forward is necessary. The financial implications for treating and restoring affected water, soil and air to normalcy are huge and require time and effort which stoppage is of essence now, not to accrue more financial responsibilities if deterioration is allowed to take its course.

In conclusion, Ghana future is at stake and hangs in the balance from effective actions to illegal activities stoppage, treatment, and restoration. Ghana's economy will suffer, and the environment will deteriorate further to unveil more catastrophic consequences. However, by working together, Ghana's can protect the country's natural resources, ensure sustainable development, maintain the image, and preserve the livelihoods of its citizens. The time to act is now and the power lies in our hands.