Inusah Fuseini, the former minister of lands and natural resources, has urged the government to lead a concerted and determined effort to stop illicit mining in the country.
According to him, their activities jeopardize the lives and livelihoods of locals by upsetting the eco-systems in mining communities.
Professor Paul Opoku Sampene Ossei, a pathologist, revealed in a case study report that the exposure of pregnant women to harmful toxins in the air, water bodies, and through the consumption of food grown on contaminated land has led to an increase in birth defects, stillbirths, and maternal mortality in affected areas.
Speaking on JoyNews' PM Express, Inusah Fusieni remarked that the phenomenon is unsurprising given the abundance of scientific data on comparable cases in the country.
"It is a well-established fact that heavy metals can disrupt the ecosystem in mining regions. I mean, everybody knows that. When they pollute our bodies of water, they can destroy our fish. When they kill our fish, we eat them; when we capture them, we eat them. They pass on to us.
"Therefore, even adults would suffer from renal diseases because heavy metals will eventually accumulate in the kidneys, impeding the development and function of the kidneys. Babies are the beginning of the human lineage; therefore, they are protected from external forces while in the womb.
"But when you introduce, knowingly or unknowingly, these heavy metals that are exceedingly hazardous to them in the womb, you will observe deformities. And scientists and environmentalists have known this for some time. Simply tour hospitals."
He stated that, as minister of lands and natural resources, he was aware of the harmful effects of the unregulated use of heavy metals in Ghana's small scale sector, and that its proliferation in mining communities is largely due to a lack of knowledge about the dangers they pose to both miners and locals.
"When I was Lands and Natural Resources Minister roughly eight years ago, I was aware that the use of heavy metals, unregulated use of heavy metals in illegal mining sites, was endangering our health, with mothers and infants likely bearing the burden.
"I can confirm that during one of these excursions to a mining area, we discovered a young boy attempting to open a bottle of mercury with his mouth. Can you fathom how dangerous this activity was and how much mercury he was exposing himself to? He was completely and utterly ignorant.
Inusah Fuseini stated that while the country may brag about generating a few billion dollars from the small scale mining sector, the cost to lives, livelihoods, and the natural environment weighs more.
"Therefore, as we continue to calculate the cost of illegal mining, we must make a concerted, determined effort to cease illegal mining. In reality, the cause is that if you conduct a natural resource accounting and yesterday I read Abu Jinapor, the minister of lands and natural resources, stating that we had received $1.2 billion from small scale mining, we have lost more than we have gained from this sector. Counting illegal activities in the mining sector, we have lost more than we have gained, he stated.