The caving in of two stores at the Tarkwa Women’s Market in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region, following a blast occasioned by illegal miners along an abandoned mine shaft, is a worrying development that should not be taken lightly.
It is simply unacceptable that illegal miners continue to operate with such impunity, blasting through underground tunnels and weakening the earth’s structure in ways that threaten lives, property, and national installations.
It is quite disturbing to hear that the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)’s preliminary assessment identifies that activities of unlicensed miners, working mostly at night, exceeded blasting thresholds, causing the collapse.
This latest incident adds to a worrying trend in the Tarkwa Municipality. Only last year, parts of the Nana Angu road, commissioned in 2019, caved in and disrupted traffic. Similarly, other minor cave-ins have also been recorded in Tarkwa and its environs but were either unreported or quickly covered up.
These occurrences are clearly very systemic problems and point to years of neglect in monitoring abandoned mine shafts. Equally disturbing is the slow and inadequate response of state institutions.
We note with concern that the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) only directed the miners to fill the affected area without conducting a comprehensive safety assessment. Such piecemeal responses are not only short-sighted but also dangerous, as they do little to address the root causes of the problem.
The Ghanaian Times holds the view that illegal mining is no longer just an environmental concern—it has become a matter of national security, and the danger it poses to lives, critical infrastructure such as power lines, and the local economy is too grave to ignore.
Already, the country is having to grapple with the damaging effects of illegal mining on our rivers, streams, other water bodies, and forest reserves and cannot sit aloof while these illegal miners brazenly extend their crude activities to the bowels of mother earth through abandoned mine shafts.
We therefore urge the Minerals Commission, EPA, NADMO, and the security agencies to work in concert to end the menace in Tarkwa and other mining communities.
We believe stronger enforcement of mining regulations, sealing of abandoned shafts, and prosecution of offenders are urgent steps that must be taken. Local assemblies must also be proactive in monitoring their jurisdictions.
Residents, for their part, must support the fight by reporting illegal operations and resisting the temptation to condone or conceal activities that endanger their own communities.
The Tarkwa incident may not have resulted in fatalities, but it serves as a stark warning not only to the residents but to duty bearers whose failure to act timeously could spell doom for the entire country.
Ghana cannot afford to wait for a major disaster before acting decisively. The time to stop illegal mining in Tarkwa is now. A stitch in time saves nine
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