A Survey Team Leader at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Samuel Manu, has revealed that concerns illegal mining (galamsey) and unemployment remain prominent despite growing optimism among Ghanaians about the country’s direction.

His comments follow the release of a nationwide survey conducted by the IEA, which indicates that a majority of Ghanaians believe the country is moving in the right direction. The poll, conducted across all 16 regions between December 20 and December 28, 2025, sampled the views of 1,022 respondents.

According to the survey results, 58 per cent of respondents said they were happy with the way things are going in Ghana, 34 per cent said they were not happy, while 8 per cent were undecided.

Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on Wednesday, January 21, Samuel Manu noted that the concerns raised by those dissatisfied point to key issues the government must address to build broader national consensus.

According to him, illegal mining and unemployment were among the most frequently mentioned challenges by respondents who expressed dissatisfaction.

He added that further details from the survey will be released in subsequent reports to provide deeper insights into public sentiment and policy priorities.

“In as much as most people think the country is headed in the right direction, that significant minority disagreeing means that there are serious issues that the government must address in order to bring everyone on board.

“So, it is good news, but it is not the brightest of news because a lot of people still think there are issues the government must address. I am sure that in our subsequent releases you are going to see a lot of issues that came out of the survey. One is unemployment, another is galamsey,” he said.