A leading voice in Ghana’s anti-illegal mining campaign has accused authorities of allowing the galamsey crisis to deepen through a combination of political reluctance, illegal deportation practices, and inadequate funding, warning that the window for decisive action is narrowing.
Kenneth Ashigbey, Convener of the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey (GCAG), made the remarks on JoyNews, raising alarm on multiple fronts as the country grapples with persistent illegal mining despite repeated government pledges.
On prosecutions, Ashigbey pointed to a glaring disconnect between public admissions by senior officials and actual legal action. “The president says he knows those involved. He has executive authority, the Attorney General works with him. Why are we not prosecuting them?” he asked. He noted that of all the galamsey campaigns currently visible, enforcement appears confined to a single location, leaving many other identified sites untouched. The GCAG has previously demanded the release of an Attorney General investigation report into individuals linked to illegal mining, which it says has produced no public findings.
On the spread of illegal mining, Ashigbey warned that the crisis has moved well beyond its traditional southern heartland, with major water bodies and strategic national assets now under serious threat. He said communities across the country are already dealing with polluted water on a daily basis, with consequences far beyond the immediate mining zones.
He also challenged the government’s practice of deporting foreign nationals caught engaging in illegal mining without prosecuting them first. “The law says when you arrest them, you take them through the courts, they serve their sentences, and then you deport them,” he said. “Currently we are deporting them. That is a breach of the law.” Ashigbey has consistently argued that deportation without prosecution is both unlawful and counterproductive, warning that porous borders mean deported individuals can and do return.
On political commitment, Ashigbey acknowledged that some enforcement effort is visible but argued that financial allocations do not match the urgency of the situation. He questioned how many of the permanent security posts proposed for galamsey hotspots are actually operational, and called on authorities to demonstrate genuine commitment through budgetary priorities rather than periodic operations. “The results are what matter. And the indicators do not show the level of change we need,” he said.
In a March 2026 statement, the GCAG declared that the national anti-galamsey campaign was failing, noting that nearly 45 forest reserves were impacted by illegal mining when President Mahama took office, and that the situation had worsened despite initial modest progress.
