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President John Dramani Mahama has stressed that the campaign against illegal mining will be sustained through stronger enforcement, new technologies and closer collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs).
He, however, emphasised that the approach would require significant financial resources, and maintained also that he would declare a state of emergency in relation to illegal mining upon the advice of National Security.
President Mahama consequently reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to win the fight against the scourge, which has come to be known popularly as galamsey in local circles.
“I want to assure you that we are determined to win this fight, and your contributions, your criticisms, your pressure, putting fire under our feet, we don't have any problem with that. We welcome it.”
This is not an event; it is a process and we are determined to win this fight,” the President told a large gathering of CSOs, faith-based organisations (FBOs), environmental groups and activists at a high-level dialogue at the Jubilee House last Friday.
The dialogue, called at the instance of the government, was on the back of renewed and intensified calls on duty bearers to do more to end galamsey within the context of the worsening water crisis, contaminated food chains, among others, and their impact on the whole society.
The meeting was attended by notable CSOs, including the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Ghana Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Office of the Chief Imam, the Ghana Muslim Mission, Arocha Ghana, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Imani Ghana, the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) and the Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana (CDD-Ghana).
Others are the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey, the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, the Eco-Conscious Citizens, the University Teachers' Association, Fix The Country Now, Star-Ghana Foundation, the West Africa Network for Peace-Building, the West African Communities against Mining (Wacam); think tanks such as the Natural Resource Governance Institute, Institute of Economic Affairs, the Africa Centre for Economic Transformation, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Send Ghana and Action Aid International; women and children groups such as Abantu for Development, Netright, law associations such as the Ghana Bar Association, the Law Society of Ghana, the African Women Lawyers Association and student groups, including the National Union of Ghana Students, the Graduate Students Association of Ghana and the National Association of Law Students.
Others are the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Amnesty International, the Ghana Federation for the Disabled, the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) and the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
President Mahama acknowledged that the illegal mining menace had become one of the most pressing national challenges threatening forests, rivers and the future of communities across the country, after the introduction of earthmoving machines into the age-old trade which had been plied with rudimentary tools without leaving behind the massive devastation being seen in recent years.
President Mahama admitted that mistakes had been made in the recent past, particularly in withdrawing security forces too soon after clearing illegal miners from forest reserves.
The President said the country needed “a substantially bigger budget” to win the galamsey war to preserve the environment.
He explained that following the formation of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), the next wave of the galamsey fight would be the permanent deployment of the military to hotspots.
He was quick to add that the government would make allocation for that in the 2026 budget.
"My expectation is that the Minister of Finance will give a much bigger allocation to the fight against galamsey," he said.
“If you station troops permanently in forest reserves, you must feed them, fuel their vehicles and provide logistics. That means we need a substantially bigger budget to win this war,” he said.
On calls to declare a state of emergency to contain the escalating situation, President Mahama stated that he was ready to take that action only upon the advice of National Security.
He said while he had the power to make the declaration, the current security briefing he had received from the National Security Council did not point to an urgent need for it.
"Yes, I have the power to do it, but the President acts on the advice of the National Security Council; and as of now, the National Security Council believes that we can win the fight against galamsey.
“I want to assure you that the day the council advises me otherwise – that boss, now we need a state of emergency – I will not hesitate to declare it,” the President stressed.
President Mahama also said the country needed more troops to be deployed to wage a sustained battle against the illegal miners.
He explained that the troops were stressed, as many of them were on peacekeeping missions abroad, while others had pitched camps at troubled areas of the country, including Bawku in the Upper West Region; and some parts of the Oti Region including Nkwanta.
"The troops are already stretched so if we take another batch and put them in the forest, it means that we are committing most of our troops to things other than crime prevention and keeping us safe," he said.
The President said it was in that regard that NAIMOS was composed of the military and other security agencies, adding that the force would be beefed up when many of the security personnel on peacekeeping returned.
Highlighting some progress made, the President announced that his administration was strictly enforcing the law that required permits and regulation regarding excavators before importation.
He revealed that shipping agencies would be penalised if they transported excavators without prior authorisation.
Mr Mahama added that all excavators would now be registered and fitted with trackers, making it possible for authorities to monitor their movement, adding that the deployment of “Blue Water Guards” to rivers such as the Ankobra was yielding results.
The President emphasised the need for land reclamation, adding that the country was partnering with companies that previously worked with UN’s Green Sahel project to introduce vegetation capable of regenerating soils and absorbing toxins.
He also announced plans to replicate international best practices, highlighting Chile’s success in formalising 90 per cent of its small-scale mining sector.
“We can also achieve that. The goal is not to criminalise small-scale mining, but to make it responsible and sustainable,” he said.
To this end, he said major mining companies such as AngloGold and Newmont had agreed to carve out portions of their regulated concessions for cooperative mining to enable small-scale miners to work under supervision in controlled areas.
Again, he stressed that going forward, the strategy of the government was to target and go after the kingpins behind galamsey operations rather than "the small boys at the sites."
He said while it was refreshing that 1,400 people had been arrested so far for engaging in galamsey, the reality was that most of them were young people looking for livelihoods.
"And per the law, we will prosecute them and imprison them; but I am saying that those who run those operations are the ones that we must be arresting and imprisoning, not these little boys,” he said.
President Mahama said with the sentence for illegal mining ranging from five to 15 years, the young boys could be imprisoned and discharged after five years.
"But like I am saying, maybe we can look rather for the kingpins and deal with them in a major way,” he stated.
The President highlighted the need to adopt new technologies capable of reducing reliance on mercury and cyanide, including vortex concentrators, activated carbon filters and reverse osmosis for water detoxification.
“While we fight galamsey, we must also adopt technologies that protect our environment.
This is not an event, it is a process —but we will never give up,” he said.
The President assured CSOs that the government would continue to operate transparently, engage stakeholders, and provide regular updates on the progress of the fight.
“Our great grandfathers handed us a beautiful country with forests, rivers and fertile land.
We cannot hand poisoned rivers and desecrated forests to our children.
We will fight, and I believe, we will win the battle against galamsey,” he said.
