The Ghana Civil Society Organisations (CSO) platform on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has called for urgent action to halt illegal mining, which poses a significant threat to the attainment of all SDGs. It urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as a former Co-Chair of the Eminent Group of Sustainable Development Goals Advocates, to take several actions, including withdrawing licenses for mining concessions along water bodies and immediately revoking the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2462). Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh, Co-Chair of the CSO Platform on SDGs, who expressed solidarity with Organized Labour's planned industrial action during a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday, called for the withdrawal of licenses for reconnaissance, prospecting, exploration, and mining in forest and protected reserves. She emphasised the importance of enforcing the ban on illegal mining in water bodies and forest reserves and stressed the need to uphold the buffer zone policy, which prohibits mining within 100 metres of water bodies. 'Without combating galamsey and other forms of illegal and irresponsible mining, Ghana will not be able to achieve the SDGs by 2030 which is barely six years away,' she said. Mrs Narteh pointed out that the galamsey issue could hinder Ghana's participation in discussions related to the Pact for the Future, which encompasses a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations adopted at the UN in September 2024. 'The unchecked destruction caused by galamsey threatens the livelihoods of rural communities, public health, food security, and the sustainability of our natural resources. Mrs Narteh urged other CSOs to join the campaign and support Organized Labour in its efforts to hold the government accountable for its responsibility to protect the environment and promote sustainable development. 'As a platform representing the collective voice of civil society across Ghana, the Ghana CSO Platform on SDGs is compelled to stand in s olidarity with fellow citizens and organised labour in this critical national cause,' she said. On October 3, 2024, the government engaged with Organized Labour at the Jubilee House regarding the urgent need to address the issue of illegal small-scale mining. Despite the government's assurances to act, Organized Labour announced it would still proceed with industrial action on October 10, demanding immediate measures to resolve the situation. Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, the Convener of the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey, stated that the government had not demonstrated sufficient commitment to addressing the galamsey crisis. 'Do you know that the new Standing Orders of Parliament allows the parliamentarians to sit virtually? So, if you are in a crisis, what stops Parliament from saying we will start to sit virtually so that we will revoke that LI that we were talking about?' he queried. Dr. Ashigbey indicated that the coalition would on October 10, begin the wearing of red armbands in solidarity with organised labour to protest against galamsey. 'What we need is for the president to take the first step. So once the president takes the first step, then what we will do is then ask the presidential candidates of both the NDC and the NPP to also sign a pact that the things that the SDG platform has asked that has to be done,' he said. Source: Ghana News Agency