President John Dramani Mahama is set to meet leaders of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at the Jubilee House today, October 3, 2025 to deliberate on the nation’s most stubborn environmental menace, illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
According to a letter from the Presidency, dated September 17, 2025 the engagement is meant to provide a platform for frank dialogue between government and civil society, pooling perspectives and solutions to curb the growing challenge.
Invitations have been extended to diverse groups, including the Catholic Bishops Conference, Christian Council of Ghana, the Office of the Chief Imam, A Rocha Ghana, IMANI, the Centre for Democratic Development, Amnesty International and other stakeholders.
On the surface, this appears to be a laudable effort. The inclusion of faith-based organisations, advocacy groups and professional bodies underscores the gravity of galamsey and the need for collective response.
Yet, for the ordinary Ghanaian, this is just another meeting, another round of rhetoric without action. Over the years, successive governments have convened countless dialogues, signed pledges and promised decisive action. And yet, illegal mining continues unabated, leaving rivers poisoned, forests depleted and communities destroyed.
The truth is simple: we have heard enough talk. What we demand now is action. It is not lost on Ghanaians that many political leaders, local authorities and even some chiefs are alleged to be complicit in illegal mining.
This entrenched network of political and traditional interests has made the fight not just an environmental battle but a moral and political one. But complicity should never be an excuse. If anything, it is reason enough for the President to take bold steps.
When President Mahama earlier declared that District and Municipal Chief Executives whose jurisdictions are caught engaging in galamsey would be held accountable, citizens applauded.
Yet months have passed and not a single DCE or MCE has been sanctioned. Communities continue to ravage their land and water bodies without consequence. The promise remains words on paper, not deeds in practice.
We cannot afford to let this cycle continue. Every day of inaction brings us closer to ecological collapse. Water bodies that serve as lifelines for millions are being rendered toxic. Cocoa farms, which sustain our economy, are being destroyed.
Young people, seduced by quick gains, are risking their lives in unsafe pits, while the state looks away. The cost of this inaction will be borne not just by this generation but by those to come.
It is time for President Mahama to prove that his government is different from those before him. Today’s meeting with CSOs should not be just another engagement that ends in communiqués and sound bites. It must mark the beginning of real, enforceable policies backed by the political will to confront the rot even if it implicates allies, party financiers, or chiefs. The President must put the country before politics. No one should be spared.
For far too long, galamsey has thrived because of selective justice. The small-scale operators are arrested while the financiers, the powerful men in suits, walk free. This double standard has weakened public trust and emboldened perpetrators. A true fight against galamsey demands that the law be applied equally to all, irrespective of status or connection.
As civil society gathers at the Jubilee House, we urge them not to be swayed by promises or charmed by rhetoric. They must hold government accountable, demand timelines, and insist on transparency in enforcement. The days of “we are still engaging stakeholders” must end. Ghana needs action decisive, courageous, and uncompromising.
If the President truly desires to leave a legacy, let it not be of another administration that talked tough but acted weak. Let it be of a leader who dared to walk the talk, who chose country over politics, and who finally brought an end to the galamsey scourge.
Enough of the talk shop. Mr. President, the time to act is now.
