Episode description

Today Alan Kasujja sits down with Ghanaian artist, Israel Derrick Epeti, to discuss the environmental disaster that’s caused by illegal mining. Mercury is being used to extract gold by miners digging on a massive scale in forests and farms across the west African country. The 26-year-old artist recently visited the town of Twifo Praso to see for himself how the Pra River is polluted by chemicals. “I was able to paint with the water on my canvas. That’s how bad it was”, he tells Alan. He further says “if this is not curbed, it will affect each and everyone in the country. We might need to import water from outside”. According to the Institute for Security Studies, galamsey, a term used in Ghana to describe illegal mining, involves large firms operating against the law. It is carried out by Ghanaians and foreigners, including Chinese and West African nationals from Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. The government has introduced a variety of interventions to stop the problem, including the deployment of the army.