Afenyo-Markin: Ghanaians are ‘paying with their kidneys’ for galamsey

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has linked concerns over a disputed $1.7bn figure involving Gold Board to the health problems he says are being suffered by communities affected by illegal mining.

Speaking during Parliament's emergency sitting on Monday, Mr Afenyo-Markin said people living in mining communities were paying a devastating price for pollution caused by illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

“As we speak, Ghanaians in mining communities across this country continue to suffer kidney failure, lung failure, and other grave conditions at alarming rates because of the extensive pollution that illegal mining has visited upon

our water bodies and our air,” he said.

He described the situation as “nothing short of a widespread epidemic” and accused the government of lacking the willingness and ability to confront it.

The Minority Leader then drew a comparison between the health concerns and the controversy over the Gold Board's finances.

“So while Gold Board cannot account for 1.7 billion, an equivalent of 22 billion Ghanaian cedis, Ghanaians in our

mining communities are paying with their kidneys, their lungs, and in other cases their lives,” he said.

“This House owes them an answer too.”

Mr Afenyo-Markin did not provide further details during the remarks about the alleged financial discrepancy or explain how the $1.7bn figure had been calculated.

His comments came shortly after Speaker Alban Bagbin addressed Parliament on the business for which the House had been recalled.

The Speaker urged MPs to restrict proceedings to the matters listed in the notice of recall. These include consideration of nominations to the Supreme Court, ministerial nominees and the Banks and Specialised Deposit-

Taking Institutions Amendment Bill.

Mr Afenyo-Markin used the emergency sitting to highlight what he described as two issues requiring

accountability: the financial concerns surrounding the Gold Board and the consequences of illegal mining for communities.

Galamsey has become a major environmental and public concern in Ghana because of its impact on water bodies and areas where mining takes place.

In his remarks, however, Mr Afenyo-Markin focused particularly on the alleged health consequences for people living in affected communities, citing kidney and lung problems.

His comments represent an opposition political claim and should not be treated as evidence that illegal mining has caused the specific illnesses or that the Gold Board cannot account for $1.7bn.

The supplied material also does not establish the source of the $1.7bn figure, provide independent evidence for the health claims, or include a response from the government or Gold Board.