The Member of Parliament for South Tongu, Maxwell Lukutor, has stressed the need for a balanced approach in addressing the galamsey menace, arguing that while illegal mining must be tackled, responsible small-scale mining must be allowed to continue.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Tuesday, July 22, the legislator pointed out that mining has long been part of Ghana’s socio-economic fabric, and therefore cannot be eliminated.

However, he emphasised the importance of enforcing responsible practices to protect the environment and communities.

“From where I sit, I think the government is making some inroads. The whole thing is very dicey. It is a bread-and-butter issue. That is why I say we are looking for ways to enumerate the issue to make sure that we have alternate means of livelihood for some of these people because they are still Ghanaians,” he said.

According to Lukutor, the reality on the ground is that mining yields significant income for many, and efforts to end it entirely would be both unrealistic and detrimental to livelihoods.

“Mining has been with us and it will continue to be there. It is the irresponsible ones that we are talking about. So once we fish out the irresponsible ones, people will continue to mine. The amount of money that they make from mining is not a joke. So we cannot stop everybody, but we have to make sure that they do it responsibly,” he added.

His comments come at a time when the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is intensifying regulatory measures in the small-scale mining sector. On Monday, July 21, 2025, the Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, disclosed that 962 small-scale mining licences may soon be revoked following an audit conducted by a ministerial committee.

The committee reviewed a total of 1,278 mining licences and cleared only 316 of them. The remaining 962 were found to contain several irregularities, including documentation gaps, procedural anomalies, and poor data quality.

The Minister has given affected license holders a two-week ultimatum to correct the anomalies or risk permanent revocation of their licences.