Private legal practitioner and social activist, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has criticised the Mahama administration for what he describes as a lack of seriousness in tackling illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

According to him, the government has already fallen short of its own commitments by failing to repeal Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462 within its first 120 days in office, a promise captured in its social contract.

Speaking on The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV on Wednesday, September 24, Barker-Vormawor described the situation as an environmental crisis of proportions that none of us have ever imagined, stressing that government responses must inspire public confidence.

“The truth is we’re facing an environmental crisis of proportions that none of us have ever imagined. The responses to it must consistently reassure public trust in the way you want to move. The first thing the government promised us in its social contract was that within 120 days, it would repeal L.I 2462, and it comes in and does the opposite. Already you are sending signals,” he said.

He further pointed to alleged extortion by some officials deployed to the field and the deportation of Chinese nationals linked to galamsey operations as actions that undermine the government’s credibility.

“When you send signals on some of the low-hanging fruit like that, it doesn’t create the impression that you are serious about it. Some of the back and forth of some of the people sent to the field involved in extorting money is a credibility denter. The deportation of the Chinese nationals involved in galamsey is a credibility denter,” Barker-Vormawor stressed.

He warned that such inconsistencies and unfulfilled promises risk eroding public trust in the government’s capacity to resolve the worsening environmental crisis.