President John Dramani Mahama has stated that the country has made progress recently in the ongoing fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. 

He said even though the menace was complex, the government had chalked up some successes in the quest to make galamsey a thing of the past.

President Mahama made the remarks during a courtesy call on him by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference at the Jubilee House last weekend.

During the meeting, the Catholic Bishops made some observations and recommendations, including a call on the President to declare a state of emergency on galamsey.

In response, the President emphasised that while small-scale mining was not illegal, there was a need to deter unscrupulous individuals whose actions had harmed the environment.

“It’s a very complex fight. Unfortunately, because of the lack of economic opportunities, a lot of young people who are unskilled have been forced into illegal small-scale mining as an easy avenue to make an income,” the President said.

Highlighting the scale of the crisis, the President disclosed that over 1.5 million Ghanaians were currently involved in the sector, either through artisanal mining, employment with small-scale mining companies, or directly engaging in illegal galamsey operations.

He further revealed that out of the 288 officially declared forest reserves, 44 had been encroached upon and, alarmingly, 16 per cent of the country’s forest reserves had been destroyed or degraded.

President Mahama, consequently, announced an ambitious plan to restore the degraded forest reserves through a carbon credit-supported reclamation programme, targeting areas devastated by galamsey.

“Addressing this issue will require both reclamation and rehabilitation of the affected forests.

We intend to pursue this under the carbon credit system.

When mined lands are reclaimed and forests are restored, these efforts qualify for carbon credits, which in turn can generate funds to support further reclamation work,” he said.

The President explained that the carbon credit mechanism, a globally recognised tool for incentivising environmental conservation and emissions reduction, could provide the country with the much-needed financial resources to restore its ecosystems while creating sustainable employment opportunities in green sectors.

Water bodies

The President also said that special attention was being paid to water bodies heavily polluted by illegal mining.

“The other focus for us is the mining on the water bodies because that is what is polluting the Pra River, Birim, and others.

We’ve started with the recruitment of the Blue Water Guards,” he added. 

Catholic Bishops

Leading the delegation, the President of the Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, expressed concern about the devastating impact of illegal mining on both the environment and Ghanaian society.

“The ecological destruction is grave, but equally dangerous is the moral and social decay that comes with it,” he warned.

Rev. Gyamfi expressed concern that what began as a subsistence activity had now grown into a national crisis.

While acknowledging the government’s ongoing efforts, the Bishop emphasised that the current crisis demanded a new paradigm, one that balanced enforcement with credible and strategic alternatives.

To this end, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference proposed a comprehensive 10-point action plan to combat illegal mining and restore integrity to the country’s natural resource governance.

Rev. Gyamfi called for an immediate audit and repeal of legislative instruments under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), including LIs such as LI 2173, LI 2192, and LI 2264, which he said had enabled unchecked and unregulated mining.

State of emergency

Among other proposals, he proposed an immediate freeze on new artisanal and small-scale mining licences until a comprehensive or full review of the environmental and social impact assessment had been undertaken.

To that end, the Catholic Bishops called on the government to declare a limited state of emergency in the most affected zones to suspend all mining activities temporarily..

Rev. Gyamfi advocated a limited state of emergency in mining-devastated zones or affected areas to suspend all operations, deploy military engineering units for land reclamation and restore lawful governance structures.

He also urged the government to form mining task forces at the district level that must include civil society and church representatives to monitor local operations, report breaches, and ensure transparency and community participation.

\The Catholic Bishops said the government must conduct independent regular environmental public audits to assess environmental damage, social benefit delivery and the legal compliance of existing mining concessions.