On this day, in this land bequeathed to us by our forebears, and in our collective aspiration for dignity; any people guided by the law, as citizens of the democratic republic that we are supposed to be, can embark on a strike or a demonstration.
We have waited, with baited breaths, with strained hope, with frustrating patience, as a presidency that – in rhetoric – was willing to put itself on the line in the fight against galamsey, petered out and surrendered, in seeming paralysis, to the arrayed forces of ecological destruction.
A largely nominal and perfunctory political class, in whole (government and opposition), abandoned, we-the-people, as large-scale destruction of the ecology occurred. We suspect that the illicit gains and profits sometimes coursed through the arteries of political party financiers, making political heavyweights inert, blind, inactive and indifferent.
Angered by the inaction, concerned by the risks posed, provoked by the enduring indifference of political actors, organised labour has employed a perfectly legitimate means of protest. Its objectives clearly stated as wanting to bring about the urgency needed from the President and his team, to get all relevant stakeholders to formulate and execute a workable plan. One that solves the galamsey menace on a sustainable basis, in a manner that improves livelihoods for the masses, and for all society.
The argument that a national strike will overheat the polity and inflame passions, so must be abandoned, is a non-starter. Who in good conscience can describe the massive destruction of ecology that galamsey has come to represent, as a state or condition of harmony? It is not.
Some say, why now and not before? To them, we also say: why did you do nothing about this devastating menace till now?
It is still within the power and capacity of the President of the Republic, if he is serious, to sit with the key stakeholders, and to find a solution. And make taking to the streets unnecessary.
But if he chooses, in this space, to be a president-in-absentia, then citizens must act to save their future. We are not the children of a lesser God. We claim our rights to live in ecological harmony, freedom, equity and organic solidarity.
And on this day, in this land, a people well aware of their democratic rights as citizens must act – by any lawful means possible – to end galamsey.
If the government has not and will not do so voluntarily, it must be compelled and forced to so – by every lawful and moral means possible! So be it. For we must one day account to the unborn and our ancestors for the stewardship we have exhibited for the resources of nature in our custody.
I support the Coalition against galamsey. I support Organised Labour! End illegal mining now!!
