TY - JOUR
T1 - Decoding the persistence of galamsey in Ghana
T2 - The meta-contradictions of neutered law
AU - Kuditchar, Nene Lomotey
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 University of Ghana College of Health Sciences on behalf of HSI Journal. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - anomie
KW - contact zone
KW - Galamsey
KW - Ghana
KW - meta-contradiction
KW - neutered law
KW - synnomie
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85197233561&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.46829/hsijournal.2024.6.5.2.719-725
DO - 10.46829/hsijournal.2024.6.5.2.719-725
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85197233561
SN - 2720-7609
VL - 5
SP - 719
EP - 725
JO - Health Sciences Investigations Journal
JF - Health Sciences Investigations Journal
IS - 2
ER -