A policy think tank has publicly accused civil society organisations (CSOs) and political actors of staying largely silent in the face of what it describes as a deepening national crisis driven by illegal resource exploitation, deforestation, and widespread river contamination.
The Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP) made the charge at a press conference at the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra on Monday, April 20, 2026, following through on an engagement it had announced to hold under the theme “Our Natural Resources Under Siege: Why the Deafening Silence on the Political and CSO’s Front?”
Executive Director of IERPP, Professor Isaac Boadi, said between January 2025 and April 2026, Ghana recorded at least 15 major cases of illegal resource exploitation across several regions, including the Eastern, Western, Ashanti, Savannah, Western North, and Upper East regions. Despite the scale of the destruction, he argued, key accountability actors have failed to mount any sustained response since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) took office.
“Why has there been a deafening silence on the political and civil society fronts in the face of such documented destruction? The deafening silence from political actors and the muted response of major CSOs, in the face of over US$2.5 billion in annual losses, contaminated rivers, destroyed forests, and a looming national water crisis, represent a governance failure of historic proportions,” he stated.
Professor Boadi cited illegal small-scale mining, commonly known as galamsey, alongside illegal logging and the degradation of water bodies, as the primary drivers of the crisis. He estimated losses from illegal mining at over US$2.5 billion annually, with an additional US$200 million to US$300 million lost through illegal timber trade. He further cited estimates suggesting that between 60 and 75 percent of water bodies have been affected by contamination linked to galamsey activities, with major rivers including the Pra, Ankobra, Offin, Birim, Tano, Densu, and the Black Volta among those heavily polluted.
On political interference, Professor Boadi said that despite President Mahama’s admission in December 2025 that party affiliates and traditional authorities are involved in the galamsey menace, no politically connected individuals have been prosecuted in connection with the destruction of the environment.
He also raised concerns about alleged security failures, citing an incident in February 2025 in which three journalists from Citi FM, Angel TV, and ABC News were violently attacked by galamsey operators at a forest reserve while under police escort, with officers present reportedly taking no action and the suspects later granted bail.
A major point of concern raised by the institute was the recent acquisition of the Damang Mine, which Professor Boadi described as opaque and insufficiently interrogated by key accountability actors, noting that Engineers and Planners Company Limited, owned by Ibrahim Mahama, has been handed operational control of the mine, triggering public debate over transparency in the management of state assets.
While acknowledging that organisations including the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey (GCAG), A Rocha Ghana, and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) have issued public statements, the institute argued their interventions have not produced enforcement outcomes.
“Without an independent prosecutorial unit, a fully funded monitoring framework, and genuine political will to name and prosecute the kingpins, Ghana risks the permanent loss of the very resources upon which its economy and people depend,” Professor Boadi warned. He called for the establishment of a dedicated independent prosecutorial body and stronger monitoring systems as minimum steps toward addressing the crisis.
