Ghanaian dancehall artiste, Livingstone Etse Satekla, popularly known as Stonebwoy, has joined the fight against illegal mining in Ghana.
The award-winning musician of international repute is using music to draw attention to the illegal mining menace as well as the destruction of the environment.
The new song titled ‘Greedy Men’ highlights the detrimental effects of illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana often known as galamsey.
In the song, Stonebwoy speaks on the economic loss, greater loss of life and property, poisoning of soil and groundwater, biodiversity loss, chemical leakages, and other long-term negative repercussions the activity is having on the country.
He also mentions how foreign companies engage in illegal gold mining in Ghana in their quest for riches at the detriment of the local people.
He also highlights how these foreigners use the underprivileged as cheap labour in mines of communities where they labor long hours for little money to dig gold etc, profiting themselves while the nation does not even benefit in the process.
He has also in the past, championed causes such as the one house, one toilet project at Ashaiman and made donations to the underprivileged.
He has other songs such as ‘Run Go’, ‘Suit and Tie’, ‘tomorrow’, among others.
Stonebwoy, will from November 21, 2021, embark his Anloga Junction UK Tour.
What highlights the issue more is the Verse 2, which says
“Women and children Suffer the most
Handling poisonous chemicals without no gloves
Contaminated water running through the holes
That is what we drink and same thing washes the clothes
Whole heap of young youth them a dying everyday
Hustling to feed family from galamsey
Why Do We Give Permission to the china State
The price that we pay is never worth the bargain. No o
“It [the scourge of galamsey] hit me especially when I did the Boss Energy tour when I went all the way to Bawku. When I saw certain things, I was really touched. And I said to myself I sung Run Go and all the other conscious songs but this would be another time to put this one also onto a record and speak about it because it’s affecting society,” he told the media in an interview.
This is not the only social responsibility project the Bhim Nation president has embarked on.
On 10th July, 2020, under the auspices of the Livingstone Foundation, he organized a skills training workshop for some people of Ashaiman who wanted to learn skills to equip them to become entrepreneurs.
