Part II compared some happenings in the UK to the case of Ghana in respect of civic education of the child and a general responsible behaviour towards the environment by all and sundry.
Part III will examine some administrative, legal and socio-cultural factors contributing to the menace of galamsey interspersed with some proposed solutions.
The problem with our country largely borders on the enforcement of the law. For example, s. 93 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) provides that: “A person licensed under section 82 may win, mine and produce minerals by an effective and efficient method and shall observe good mining practices, health and safety rules and pay due regard to the protection of the environment during mining operations”.
Is this provision complied with to the letter by the small scale miners? We wouldn’t be where we are today if there had been strict compliance.
It is proposed that the Minerals Commission go the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) way, thus the way of affiliation.
The law should be amended to make it mandatory for all new small scale mining companies to seek ‘affiliation’ with existing mining firms with for instance, not less than five years experience in responsible mining, to mentor them in the art of responsible mining and other related matters. Both the mentors and mentees should be held responsible for non-compliance.
S. 92 of Act 703 provides for the establishment of Small Scale Mining Committees (SSMCs). However, the Service Commanders of the various security services are conspicuously missing in the membership composition. These are the people who are usually called upon to deal with the activities of galamseyers. It is crucial that they are involved from the start and not the current situation where they are called in when the problem is almost beyond redemption.
The government should consider amending the law in the long run to include in the membership of the SSMCs, the Military, Police Service, Fire Service and Prison Service Commanders of the respective Regions. One of these Service Commanders should be elected Chairperson of the Committee in order to make it more independent, instead of the current provision where the DCE is the Chairperson. In the meantime, the Service Commanders can be co-opted to be part of the SSMCs immediately.
The calibre of the people at the forefront of curbing the menace of galamsey ought to be taken into account seriously by the government. The government should look beyond party colours and appoint principled and unwavering people to lead the crusade against this canker that is gradually wiping this nation out.
The argument for incorruptible people leading the fight against galamsey is not restricted to the frontline alone (security agencies), but also, the rear line, such as the Police, the District Assemblies and the Courts. No matter how lethal a strike force is, if the defence is porous, the team stand no chance of winning a game comprehensively.
After the frontline (the military) carries out arrests of irresponsible miners and seizure of their equipment, they have no power to detain the culprits or hold onto the equipment. The suspects together with the exhibits are usually handed over to either the Police or the District Assemblies for further investigations and possible prosecution. Sadly, information filtering through points in the direction that the rear line defence, is the most porous.
A Senior Military Officer (name withheld) who until recently was leading the onslaught against galamsey in one of the Regions down south, recounted to me how a District Assembly and a District Court, made his soldiers to ‘ceasefire’.
According to this no-nonsense Officer, all equipment seized were usually handed over to the District Assembly. By the next day however, the equipment would vanish into thin air.
Following the constant disappearance of the equipment from the Assembly’s custody, the Officer assigned his soldiers to guard some seized equipment at the premises of the District Assembly. With this measure, the ‘vanishing powers’ of the equipment failed.
The galamseyers pulled every string in the District, the Region, and Accra, but the Officer turned down the release request of all the so-called ‘big men’.
In the end, it was the ‘justice system’ that failed this nation in this instance, and not the Military.
The galamseyers proceeded to the District Court, and by hook or crook, the Magistrate who had no jurisdiction over the matter (because the cost of the equipment far exceeded the financial jurisdiction of the court), went ahead to issue a release order in respect of the seized equipment. The Officer had no option other than to comply with this ‘illegal order’. His soldiers from this moment onwards, recoiled. What is the essence of risking one’s life to save his country, only for the very people who are paid to apply and enforce the law turn around to make mockery of those very laws?
This Officer was once approached by some galamseyers and offered a continuing bribe of Ghc 100,000 a week to turn a blind eye to their unpatriotic and criminal activities. When this was turned down and they were thrown out of his office, they had the effrontery to return with a much more juicy offer, and that is, a concession to fetch him a minimum of One Million Ghana Cedis a Month. This was also turned down and they were warned NEVER to make a mistake and visit his office again.
The government should explore the possibility of setting up some special courts to handle galamsey cases. This will weed out some corrupt Judges from getting involved in galamsey cases and also lead to speedy trials, since the lengthy adjournments associated with the traditional courts, will be eliminated.
There is this sad story of a farmer who was approached by galamseyers to buy his cocoa farm to undertake small scale mining, which he turned down. They were however successful in acquiring neighbouring farmlands and proceeded to ‘suffocate’ his land. Huge trenches were dug around his farm to make his farm inaccessible. Waste water from their criminal mining operations was diverted to his land, which ended up destroying his crops. He had no option other sell his farm to them which they bought at about 10% of the initial price they offered. The farmer claimed that his complaints to almost everyone who mattered fell on deaf ears.
The government should also look at the possibility of carrying out a ‘house cleaning exercise’ of mining licenses issued in the last twenty years. According to Joynews, that from 1988 to 2008, forty mining licenses were issued; from 2009 to 2016, fifty nine; and from 2017 to 2025, 2,151 licenses were issued (Joy news, 2025).
Fact is, we have to stop the blame game and get down to work to save our country from being wiped out by a few greedy and inconsiderate members of society. The harm has been done and continuing. The question now is: how do we ‘kill the harm virus’ and treat or restore the infected parts of our dear nation to their former state?
The call by the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, for a Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) engagement scheduled for Friday, 3rd October, 2025, is in the right direction.
It is proposed that those whose mining activities lead to the pollution of our river bodies should be relocated to areas where their operations will not directly or indirectly have a negative impact on our water bodies. A total ban may not achieve the desired result.
Even in military warfare, to achieve lasting peace towards the tail end of a civil war, the militia are usually integrated into the regular forces to make them ‘feel at home’.
Some of the galamseyers may also be encouraged to venture into the agricultural sector or the construction industry, since they already own some equipment to make their entry into these sectors, smooth.
The government may also consider securing large tracks of farmlands with irrigation systems and allocate these lands to ex-galamseyers who wish to go into farming. Fish and poultry farming are other options that the state can explore. The main duty of the state will be to provide or create an enabling environment for these ex-galamseyers and their sidekicks like the minors they engage who are paid an average of Ghc 50 a day.
The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), will have to deploy all its arsenal in the galamsey communities to appeal to the inhabitants to save humanity by either mining responsibly, or going into the agricultural sector. The minors should be encouraged to return to the classrooms and take advantage of the Free SHS, and the no fees stress for first year university students, which has recently been rolled out by the John Mahama administration.
Tree planting should be encouraged, since Ghanaians generally don’t have the habit of planting trees. The late President of Burkina Faso, Capt. Thomas Sankara, was able to convince his people to plant trees for their loved ones on their birthdays instead of wasting funds on lavish parties. Even though he was tragically assassinated in 1987, till date, most Burkinabes still plant trees for their loved ones on their birthdays. We can also do a similar thing in Ghana.
Another point to consider will be the fitting of tracking devices on the earth moving equipment of small scale miners. The cost of such devices should be borne by the miners and monitored by Military Intelligence. This is to ensure that all licensed and approved mining equipment remain within the boundaries of the concession concerned. Any unapproved and unlicensed mining equipment seized, should be taken to a Military Base for secure holding.
Traditional rulers should be actively involved in the quest to find a lasting ‘cure’ for galamsey, since most of the lands being used for galamsey activities are stool/skin lands, therefore, traditional rulers should be prevailed upon to work assiduously with the SSMCs in their jurisdictions to save our country.
Part IV will examine the political will and the role of the media in the battle against galamsey.
Alhassan Salifu Bawah
(son of an upright peasant farmer)