A few small things…

As 2024 ebbs and we stand on the threshold of the new year, a lot of time is spent in reflecting, thanksgiving, regrets and making personal commitments for the year ahead. Apparently, such introspection is beneficial as it helps us see things with the benefit of hindsight.

Looking back, 2024 seems like a roller-coaster ride with its unprecedented events on both sides of the Atlantic. Isn’t it peculiar how political events in both countries seem to kind of mirror each other. And yet one cannot fail to recognize how political gymnastics rose to fever pitch ostensibly drowning out the sense of outrage at the indiscriminate and wanton destruction of forests and river bodies that filled the airwaves at the beginning of this last quarter of the year.

So as 2024 slips into history, the outcry against the devastation of biodiversity by well-resourced and influential kingpins masquerading as small-scale miners that turned mild mannered Ghanaian denizens out on the streets in protest has been turned into a silent plea. Here too the reflection on both sides of the Great Pond is telling. We sought Change, yet the lack of political will on galamsey, the fallout from COP29, Multi-Nationals falling short of global sustainability targets or actively contributing to the very problems their ESG goals claimed to address (how much more the small ones?),? shows nothing has changed even through our very existence is being threatened.

In hindsight it probably was not a good decision to legalize small-scale mining in the 1980s. But back then I guess no one thought a few indigens searching for gold with pans and shovels would wreak such harm on the ecosystem. Many small things done over the last twenty years have culminated in this potential existential threat of water shortages, polluted river bodies, deforestation and food insecurity.? Seeming small actions done out of sight and mind by individuals and small groups, local and foreign, who brought in machinery to speed up the process in remote areas. The lure of quick gains with no responsibility brought in droves. Adventurers, political aficionados, bandits. We are yet to see galamsey activities conducted with the limits placed on larger mining concerns.

The effect is not surprising. And in a country where integrity and fairness have nearly lost currency and protesting this evil results in imprisonment, everything has come together so horribly. As we sit together positing solutions to all our problems, we seem to believe the problem is bigger than we are, even though there is a general awareness we have succumbed the Ghanaian perennial diseases of lack of enforcement, greed, spinelessness, political ambivalence and our inclination to avoid unpleasant reality.

In the last couple of months, I have been mulling over a quotation by Vincent Van Gogh “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together”. It was easy to recall the series of positive small things that were done to sound the alarm. Actions by journalists, particularly Erastus Asare Donkor, persevering with many small actions to bring the menace to light and sparking the initial anti-galamsey fight that unfortunately came to a sorry end. Credit must also be given to the press, civil society, conservation groups Eco-conscious activists, some religious bodies and all who continue to press the issue home.??

And so, I wondered what would be the impact if the rest of us decided to do small positive things- not only for our ecosystem, but on every issue that affects our collective wellbeing. Can you imagine the immense impact of 20 million small actions done simultaneously, not impulsively, to reverse the negative trends we are experiencing? Democratic actions that protest, support, influence, write, report, take and share visuals, etc. Small things that speak truth to power, hold leadership accountable, demand deserved services from public servants and also do our own jobs with diligence and dedication.? Afterall is Ghana not a democracy – ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’?

Perhaps if 20 million new year resolutions were made (and kept) - to choose to stay resilient and resolute, even in the face of the uncertainty of the impending year. To choose to seek the well-being of the collective rather than individual pursuits. To become more accountable for our Maker’s priceless gifts and investments of life, talent, and faith. Seeking the survival of the many and not the few.? ?What if, for example, we each chose to improve our environment around our homes and in our communities - planting trees, cultivating our own vegetables, keeping our surroundings clean and recycling waste?

20 million positive actions each day- Powerful!!

?Best wishes for 2025 –may we find islands of purposefulness and fulfilment amid chaos; may we discover a verdant oasis of tranquility in the desert of these stressful times.

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About Julie Asante

Julie Asante is a Chartered Accountant and Change Management Consultant with over 25 years proven experience in enabling impactful financial management improvement and transformation initiatives in Ghana. She is also a learning and upskilling facilitator in financial management, financial reporting including sustainability & climate change, organizational change, risk and performance management.

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