The Reverend Dr.?Worlanyo Mensah, an Economist, says Ghana’s economy could suffer significant losses as illegal mining continues to contaminate water sources with harmful chemicals, leading to serious health risks for human resources.
Dr.?Worlanyo warned that if urgent action was not taken, the country could face a decline in productivity, increased healthcare costs, and reduced economic growth.
He said illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey activities, had become a major threat to public health due to the use of dangerous chemicals such as mercury and cyanide in mining processes, adding that these substances soak into rivers and groundwater, polluting sources that millions of Ghanaians rely on for drinking, farming, and fishing.
The long-term health consequences, he said, included kidney and liver diseases, respiratory problems, and various forms of cancer.
“Once the health condition of Ghanaians is affected, it also affects the productivity capacity of the country because most people that are supposed to be working will now be battling with illnesses, and the few that will be left to work will not be able to generate enough revenue for the country, and that will affect the fortunes of the state,” he stated.
Dr.?Worlanyo explained that these health issues could lead to a significant reduction in the country’s labour and would negatively impact industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and services, which rely heavily on human labour.
He said the loss of healthy workers could slow down economic growth, pointing out that Ghana’s economy was highly dependent on sectors that required manual labour, including mining, construction, farming, and a lot more.
Rev. Dr. Mensah?said the government’s expenditure on healthcare could rise significantly as more people would seek medical treatment for illnesses caused by contaminated water, which would divert resources away from critical investments in infrastructure, education, and social services, and a lot more.
He said water contamination from galamsey also threatened food security as polluted rivers affected irrigation, leading to lower crop yields as many farming communities relied on those water sources.
He said anytime the water was unsafe, agricultural production declined, resulting in food shortages and higher prices.
The economist said the expectation of Ghanaians from the government was high,?urging the government to use political will to fight the menace and?also?involve community members through the formation of?watchdog committees in the galamsey fight. ?
“You can’t trust politicians in fighting galamsey because most of them are thinking about their pockets and how to generate enough revenue for the next election and not thinking about the welfare of the country,” he, however, stated.
Source: GNA
The post Ghana risks losing workforce due to galamsey-related diseases – Economist warns appeared first on Ghana Business News.
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