It has come to the notice of Ghanaians that government’s reluctance in tackling the galamsey issue is due to the fact that GoldBod is acquiring a lot more gold from this irresponsible and illegal mining, than it would have, from only dealing with the mainline mining companies.
Yes, Ghana needs lots of gold to improve our standard and cost of living. Yes, Ghana will love to move up to be among the top second-world countries, no longer relying on external loans but rather could give out loans to other countries.
However, if by acquiring gold, higher and larger than Mount Kilimanjaro, and yet all will go into importation of food and water, which we could have produced here; leaving us with bad roads, poor health facilities and poor living conditions among others, what do we benefit? Have we gone or have we come?
If indeed government is behind this surge in irresponsible and illegal mining in recent times to acquire gold for GoldBod, then I will humbly ask Mr. President that he and government should think about the consequences El Salvador went through with irresponsible mining that made that country ban all forms of mining in 2017. Those miserable and dark days of that country are descending on Ghana. If nothing is done about galamsey, this NDC government will become the most irresponsible and evil government ever, no matter what developments it chalks.
Ghana used to produce 1 million metric tonnes of cocoa annually, andis currently the second top producer nation. This is about to change because it will soon be overtaken by Ecuador with its 650,000 metric tonnes at the end of the 2026/2027 season. Ghana is sinking to 600,000 metric tonnes by the next season to place third.
Galamsey is playing a major role in the decline of cocoa production in Ghana, but government seems to have not noticed. Cocoa farmers are giving up their farms for galamsey operations, because of great disappointment in the current producer price announced by government.
When El Salvador finally arrives, the very people who are in those galamsey communities and approve of that form of mining, will rise up against government.
Truly, to me they are the first to blame. How can they allow their youth to transform good soil and fresh natural water to very deadly substances, all in the name of gold? They talk about jobs for the youth, but if galamsey can be called job, then why was it not practised since the days of their ancestors? These ancestors, kept the environment healthy and clean because they believed all belonged to God and passed it down in good state, to this generation.
We hear that four million Ghanaians are involved in galamsey, making up 11.34% of the population, so they must be handled like heroes. Assuming four million rebels are based in the forests, would they not be attacked and destroyed? And of course, people engaged in galamsey are attacking the country. They are worse than coup plotters, who only attack governments. These galamsey operators are attacking and destroying the country. They are waging environmental war on Ghana.
Government must know the differences between someone doing genuine job and the other doing jobs that destroy the soul of the peoples, the environment. The day we will become like El Salvador is not too far away. And when that happens, and the worst calamity takes seat in this country, the galamsey operators will be no where to be found. They will relocate with the gold they have.
In a statement made by the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, on September 15, 2025, the bishops of Ghana stated that they cannot be silent before a calamity that imperils both the integrity of God’s creation and the dignity of His people. They reminded Ghanaians that illegal and unregulated mining (galamsey), has become one of the gravest afflictions of our time. It ravages our rivers and forests, poisons our soil, endangers public health, corrupts governance, erodes our moral fibre, and extinguishes livelihoods.
They proclaimed that from the dawn of creation, humanity was entrusted with stewardship of the earth and this vocation is not a licence for reckless exploitation but a sacred trust for the common good.
Unfortunately, our rivers, forests, and farmlands now bear witness to a profound betrayal of this mandate. The Pra, Ankobra, Birim, Offin, Ayensu, and other once-pristine rivers are now laced with mercury and toxic effluents. Some have ceased to flow downstream, while others, like the Ayensu, show turbidity levels so extreme at 35,000 NTU, over twelve times of the maximum threshold of 2,500 NTU that water can be purified.
Once-verdant forests lie stripped to barren scars, while fertile farmlands are rendered sterile, punctured by deadly pits. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1). To desecrate creation through galamsey is not only an offence against neighbour; it is a grave sin against God, the Creator and Owner of all.
Rather unfortunately, they added the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, appears not to grasp the existential scale of the menace. In both January and May 2025, the Conference’s delegation to the president raised these concerns directly with him, only to be met with unsatisfactory responses focused narrowly on economic gain.
The Catholic bishops appealed to President Mahama to show the courage of leadership. Urging his government not only to prosecute the poor and weak but the powerful and well connected as well. They drew attention of Ghanaians that this struggle is not merely about law enforcement. It concerns the very soul of Ghana. It is about whether we choose life or death, blessing or curse (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Also, in its statement on September 15, 2025, the Coalition Against Galamsey (CAG), expressed outraged at government’s failure to see the urgency and crisis Ghana faces from illegal and irresponsible mining.
The Coalition reiterated its disappointment with the recent statements of the President at the Jubilee House on 10th September. Wittingly or unwittingly, these statements seemed to support the environmental terrorism and menace of galamsey. Prolonged tolerance of illegal and irresponsible mining has led to severe environmental damage, including the pollution and destruction of water bodies used by over 20 million people.
In its statement on the galamsey menace issued on September 16, 2025, the National Catholic Laity Council, declaredits full and unwavering support for the statement issued by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) on the destructive effects of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The Council thanked God for the courageous and prophetic voice of the Catholic Bishops, who, like true shepherds, have been speaking with clarity and urgency about this national calamity. As the lay arm of the Church, the Council joins the shepherds in calling on the Government of Ghana, traditional leaders, politicians, and indeed every citizen, to take bold steps to end the scourge of galamsey before it consumes the very soul of our nation.
Ghanaians watch fertile farmlands, which for generations fed families and sustained livelihoods, destroyed and abandoned to gaping pits. Children, who should be in school learning for a brighter future, drop out to risk their lives in unstable mining shafts for quick but fleeting gains. Health consequences: strange skin diseases, kidney failures, cancers, and other illnesses have creeped into our communities through polluted water and food.
To the Council, galamsey has truly become a national disaster, not only threatening our environment but also endangering human life, family sustenance, and national security. It went on to remind Ghanaians that galamsey is not simply an economic or political problem but also a moral and spiritual crisis. The Word of God reminds us: “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1).
The National Catholic Laity Council, therefore issued a solemn and pastoral appeal to all Catholic lay faithful to do all in their capacity to help put a stop to galamsey.
It is rather very nauseating to hear ministers in government and NDC members comparing what the government is doing in the fight against galamsey to what the previous administration did. Ghanaians only want results because we are seeing worse things happening now than then.Six breadbasket regions are now producing poisonous foods. No one is safe in Ghana, anymore.
During the previous administration, Sammy Gyamfi held a press conference by a turbid river and accused NPP members on galamsey. In this NDC era he is now telling Ghanaians that galamsey is an aged old problem that can’t be solved by NDC’s eight-month administration, not admitting but hiding the fact that his GoldBod is benefiting from this environmental devasting operations.
H.E. John Dramani Mahama is talking about economic gains, but what will it gain the country to have all the gold in the world but lose the soul of the peoples, the environment?
Hon. Daniel Dugan
