Decoding the persistence of galamsey in Ghana: The meta-contradictions of neutered law
Date
2024
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
HSI Journal
Abstract
Background: There is a lack of consensus on the appropriate regime for socio-political regulations regarding galamsey. In this context, people
with unrestrained pecuniary ambitions defy or evade laws enacted to curb galamsey, thereby rendering them neutered even when violently
enforced.
Objectives: This study aimed to demonstrate that the failure of the Government of Ghana to curtail galamsey is due to the clash of ethnic
group customs and national laws, thereby generating a meta-contradiction of governance principles in galamsey enclaves.
Methods: The study was framed by the notion of the contact zone, namely the coexistence of different principles of socio-political regulation.
Areas with galamsey are unstable contact zones of anomie, and those without them are stable synonymic contact zones. The study was
qualitative ethnographic research based on primary data generated from individual interviews and focused group discussions with respondents
recruited through a chain-link strategy in the communities of Akyem Asunafo and Akyem Kwabeng in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Results: Akyem Kwabeng demonstrated the trait of an unstable anomic contact zone with its relatively weak customary norms. It was a
galamsey enclave with a destroyed ecology. This study also used secondary information on Tanchara in the Upper West Region. Akyem
Asunafo is found to be a stable synonymic contact zone, upholds traditional principles of governance, has no galamsey, and its ecology is
pristine. Conversely, Tanchara, an unstable contact zone, used its customary norms to stem galamsey and protect its environment.
Conclusions: It will be prudent for the GoG to acknowledge the superior eco-regulatory capacity of chiefs and norms of traditional eco governance and facilitate the conclusion of Green Social Contracts (GSCs) rooted in customary principles of ecological governance in
galamsey enclaves.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Galamsey, contact zone, synnomie, Ghana