President John Dramani Mahama has acknowledged that the fight against illegal mining activities, popularly known as galasmey, has become more challenging than he imagined, owing to the calibre of people involved across political, traditional, and even his own networks.
In an engagement with Organised Labour at the Jubilee House in Accra on Tuesday, March 17, President Mahama highlighted the complexities associated with the fight against illegal mining activities, which have become an albatross around the neck of every government.
“And so I don’t kid myself that we don’t have our own people involved,” President Mahama said, adding that, “Even when one party changes, those who were running some operation… will go to the next party and say, now that you have come, come and take over this operation and let’s share. We, too, will be getting small; this is what we are doing.”
He acknowledged that the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) faces strong resistance from communities, where chiefs, youth, and residents often obstruct enforcement efforts.
“They go to a community, and the chiefs, the youth, and everybody come out and resist them. I don’t kid myself that we will be able to win that fight overnight. But we cannot relent, we must continue,” he said.
President Mahama further attributed the surge in galamsey activities to the enormous challenges confronting the cocoa sector, especially in the event that the world market price has made the cocoa pricing regime very unattractive.
“And it doesn’t help when we have a crisis in the cocoa industry. The low price that was paid to cocoa farmers made some of them give up their farms for gold mining.”
The President further highlighted logistical challenges, including the lack of patrol boats and monitoring equipment for waterways and forest reserves. He said the government is working with the Ministries of Finance, Defence, and Interior to provide the necessary resources and facilities to strengthen anti-galamsey operations.
The continuous galamsey activities exacerbate the existential impact on the environment and the nation at large.
President Mahama’s statement brings to the fore his commitment to dealing decisively with the menace, irrespective of the challenges that may come.
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