Politicians Sabotaging Galamsey Fight, Says Media Coalition Chief — Calls Mount for State of Emergency

The head of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Kenneth Ashigbey, has made a damning accusation against politicians in Ghana, alleging that they are actively undermining efforts to stamp out illegal small-scale mining — commonly known as galamsey — by pressuring district-level officials to stand down from enforcement action.

Speaking on JoyNews' Newsfile programme on Saturday, Ashigbey painted a troubling picture of a system in which the very people entrusted with solving the galamsey crisis are part of the problem. He used a striking analogy to drive home his point: "The firefighters are the arsonists." In his view, some officials placed in charge of combating illegal mining are either directly involved or are complicit through inaction driven by political pressure.

DCEs "Wanting to Do the Right Thing" Being Silenced

Ashigbey specifically pointed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) — the local government officials who sit at the frontline of enforcement — as being caught between their duties and political interference. He argued that even those MMDCEs who genuinely want to act against illegal miners are being leaned on by politicians to look the other way.

"Unfortunately, the situation is that you have DCEs and MCEs even wanting to do the right thing, but because of the politicians, you see them bringing pressure to bear on even the DCEs who want to do the right thing," he said.

This allegation strikes at a core weakness in Ghana's anti-galamsey architecture: the fact that MMDCEs are political appointees, making them vulnerable to pressure from the very figures who facilitated their appointments. Critics have long argued that this structural dependency makes genuine, sustained enforcement at the district level extremely difficult to achieve.

Why It Matters for Ghana

Galamsey remains one of Ghana's most urgent environmental and public health crises. Illegal mining has devastated river bodies — including the Pra, Birim and Offin — that millions of Ghanaians depend on for drinking water and livelihoods. The Cocoa sector, a cornerstone of the national economy, has also suffered significant damage as farmlands are destroyed by illegal miners.

Despite successive government campaigns — including Operation Vanguard and the Galamsey Fight Back initiative — illegal mining has persisted and in many areas expanded. Ashigbey's accusations suggest that political interference is a key reason enforcement has repeatedly failed to deliver lasting results.

He also raised serious concerns about the safety of security personnel deployed to mining communities, questioning how illegal operators continue to act with apparent impunity and even threaten military personnel. He called for thorough investigations into the interests allegedly financing and protecting criminal activities in these communities, and stressed the need to distinguish between legitimate small-scale miners and those engaged in violence, intimidation, and the illegal movement of arms.

Coalition Backs Catholic Bishops' Call for State of Emergency

Ashigbey went further by endorsing a recent statement from the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference, which called on President John Dramani Mahama to declare a state of emergency in areas most severely affected by galamsey. The coalition convenor described the bishops' statement as containing a comprehensive set of solutions to the crisis.

"I think His Excellency the President needs to listen to the voice of the Catholic bishops to say that enough is enough. Let us declare this state of emergency within these particular spaces," he urged.

A state of emergency in designated mining zones would, in theory, allow the government to deploy resources and security forces with broader legal authority and fewer procedural constraints — potentially overcoming some of the political and bureaucratic obstacles Ashigbey described.

• President Mahama has yet to formally respond to either the bishops' statement or the coalition's latest calls.
• Ghana's water bodies and cocoa farmlands continue to suffer severe damage from illegal mining activity.
• Structural dependency of MMDCEs on political appointors remains a key barrier to local-level enforcement.

With environmental degradation accelerating and public frustration mounting, pressure is growing on the Mahama administration to move beyond rhetoric and take decisive, politically independent action against galamsey.