Kwadwo Nsafoah Poku, an energy analyst and member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), says the party’s fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, weakened during its second term in government after it lost political support in several mining communities following the suspension of small-scale mining activities.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, March 7, Nsafoah Poku explained that although the government of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo initially demonstrated a strong commitment to tackling illegal mining, the momentum slowed in later years.

According to him, the suspension of small-scale mining for about 20 months during the early phase of the anti-galamsey campaign triggered political backlash in several mining communities, many of which had previously supported the NPP.

He argued that the electoral impact of the mining ban made the party more cautious about maintaining the same level of enforcement against illegal mining during its second term.

“I have said openly on every platform when I was contesting the flagbearership of the NPP that I gave Nana Addo’s government 85%. The remaining 15% was because of the fight against galamsey and corruption.

The reason is that the same energy we used in the first four years was not the same energy we had in the last four years,” he said.

His comments come at a time when concerns are growing over the environmental damage caused by illegal mining.

A recent survey by the Forestry Commission revealed that the activity has destroyed nearly 9,000 hectares of Ghana’s forest reserves, with more than 5,200 hectares lost in the past three years.

The Commission also indicated that the area of forest reserves affected by illegal mining increased by 5,252.9 hectares between 2021 and 2024, bringing the total impacted land to 8,923.8 hectares as of December 31, 2024.