Gold: A blessing and a curse

By Amos SAFO

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) most recent report (July 2025) on Ghana’s economy highlights positive economic growth in late 2024 and early 2025 due to strong performance in mining, agriculture, construction and the ICT sectors.  Interestingly and disturbingly, Ghana’s economy recorded a significant improvement in the gold exports. But at what cost is Ghana gaining from mining and exporting gold?

For several decades, Ghana has had to grapple with the wanton destruction of its environment, and river bodies. River bodies like Ankobra, Pra, Densu and others have all suffered pollution due to the activities of illegal miners, who indiscriminately spill mercury and other harmful chemical substances into river bodies.

Economic Growth

According to the report, Ghana’s economic growth was largely driven by a strong activity in the mining sector. It is worth noting that the report evokes mixed feelings to many Ghanaians. On one hand, the country has made gains in gold exportation and foreign exchange,  on the other hand, our rivers have turned into mud, and our forests are on the verge of extinction. In that regard, illegal mining has become an environmental crime against current and future generations. For this reason, the perpetrators and financiers of illegal mining should be treated as criminals.

After the helicopter crash that killed eight of our compatriots, the government has come under a barrage of criticisms for failing to combat illegal mining, as it promised. Several stakeholders are demanding rigorous legislation and an enforcement framework to ban mining in forest reserves and near rivers and water bodies.

Legal frameworks

On July 29, 2019, the Akufo-Addo government launched the Community Mining Scheme (CMS), in response to fighting illegal mining. It constitutes a structured approach to bring order to community mining activities.  This led to the introduction of the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme for communities which were dependent on illegal mining as a source of livelihood.

CMS combines among other things, small scale mining in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) and the Tributer System in accordance with Regulations 493-506 of the Minerals and Mining Regulations, 2012 (L.I 2182). The operation of CMS is in line with Sections 81-99 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703). Furthermore, it is governed by a code of practice as stated in Regulations 475 and 515 of the Minerals and Mining (health, safety and technical) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2182).

Primarily, the policy aimed to regulate the sector, prevent environmental damage from mercury use and land degradation, and to promote sustainable mining practices. This indicates that Ghana already has policy framework to regulate the sector. The missing link is the political will to enforce the rules and regulations.

Mechanisms to control illegal mining

• Formalization of Small-Scale Mining: The core strategy is to formalize illegal mining operations into legitimate, small-scale, and community-based mining, allowing for better oversight and regulation.
• Stricter Regulation of Equipment: New measures include a permit regime for importing excavators to control their use in illegal operations and improve tracking of heavy mining equipment.
• Environmental Protection: Efforts are made to curb the indiscriminate use of mercury and liquid chemicals, which cause severe water pollution and environmental degradation.
• Alternative Livelihoods: Recognizing that poor economic conditions drive many into galamsey.

In my view such an elaborate intervention introduced by the previous government, should have been consolidated and not discarded. Therefore, it was unnecessary for the current government to launch counter policy called “Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP).” The new initiative was designed to promote responsible and sustainable practices within Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector. Like the previous intervention, the current one aims to:

• Promote responsible mining practices,
• Equip miners with sustainable skills,
• Tackle illegal mining and child labor, and
• Provide support for mining communities.

Policy duplication

A critical review of the interventions of the Akufo-Addo government and the current John Mahama government reveals no major difference, except that the current government simply wanted to duplicate what was already launched.

The speed with which new governments dismantle policies they inherited from a previous government is a drawback to our economic growth. Perhaps, what President John Mahama needed to do was to evaluate the previous government’s intervention with the view to strengthening it. On that point, it is needless to duplicate an existing policy which has been launched. Perhaps, our eight compatriots would not have died in the helicopter crash while on their way to launch the rival intervention.

Challenges and ongoing efforts

Community Involvement: The two policies emphasize community participation. Although the two approaches are laudable, however, there is lack of political will to enforce regulations against mining in forests and rivers. The lack of enforcement stems from the fact that most, if not all of our political leaders are financing and benefiting from illegal mining.

Environmental Degradation and Health Risks: Galamsey leads to extensive land and water pollution from mercury and cyanide, which cause significant health issues in the poor host communities. The question is, should we allow a few people to become millionaires at the expense of our collective survival?

Corruption and weak enforcement: Past approaches, such as military-style crackdowns, have been largely ineffective due to corruption and the powerful influence of political elites, leading to a “catch and release” pattern. Perhaps, due to political influence the judiciary tend to release illegal miners, especially foreigners who are being prosecuted for mining in forests and water bodies.  In addition, the mining sector has been plagued by corruption and foreign exploitation, where foreign firms and complicit state actors often profit at the expense of the local population and the environment.

Complexities of the Small-Scale Mining Sector: Some environmental analysts have argued that the large number of informal actors and the complexity of the gold market hinders effective implementation of existing laws. Ghana is not the only country where small-scale mining is taking place. Countries like Burkina Faso and Mali have been able to enact and enforce laws that sanitize the sector. Our failure to regulate the sector stems from conflict of interest and weak political leadership.

Need for Systemic Change: Other analysts advocate for a comprehensive rural development plan to address poverty and unemployment alongside regulatory efforts, for a sustainable solution.  I agree with this notion because illegal mining is a social justice issue.  For centuries, communities blessed with gold deposits have watched foreign companies extracting gold and repatriating their huge profits, while people in the communities remain under the shackles of poverty. Therefore, the desire of the communities to have a fair share of the gold on their lands is justified, however, the wanton destruction of the environment constitutes a grievous crime to the country.

 

Gold, a curse or a blessing?

Judging from the environmental destruction resulting from mining gold, it can safely be concluded that gold is both a blessing and a curse. From the environmental perspectives  the curses of gold are beginning to outweigh the blessings.

The Blessings

Economic Wealth: Gold mining has historically generated wealth for Ghana, contributing to its economy as a leading global producer of gold. On the contrary, I think Ghana’s gold has benefitted western countries more than Ghanaians. Why should a country with huge deposits of gold continually run to the IMF and World Bank to borrow money at high interest rates?

Cultural Significance: No doubt, gold holds deep cultural and symbolic importance.  Historically, it represents purity and life force in the Asante culture. Nevertheless, I do not appreciate the cultural significance of gold, when people blessed with minerals continue to live in abject poverty.

The Curse

The following factors account for my assertion that gold is more of a curse than a blessing.

Environmental destruction: Illegal gold mining, or galamsey, uses destructive techniques and toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide, which pollute water bodies, destroy vegetation, and render land infertile for agriculture.

Social disruption and poverty: Mining communities live in abject poverty despite the resource wealth, with inadequate social infrastructure and livelihoods. While multinational corporations are huge beneficiaries of our gold, the remaining go to powerful politicians and their cronies.

Resource Curse: The influx of wealth from gold has, in some cases, created a dependency that undermines more balanced development, leading to a “resource curse” rather than overall national prosperity.  Obviously, while gold is contributing significantly to Ghana’s exports and foreign exchange, it is causing severe environmental degradation and social disruption across the country. Unregulated galamsey operators are polluting rivers, encroaching on farmland, causing deforestation, posing danger to human life, and causing communities to see mining as a matter of life and death. Realistically, the curses that are being inflicted on us far outweigh the blessings.

Looking forward

A way out is for political leaders to enforce regulations, transparency and accountability in the sector. Policy directions are also needed to formalize or abolish illegal mining and ensure profits benefit national development. Sadly, however, our leaders lack political will to enforce any regulations; thus, no matter how strong the regulations are, they will only remain paperwork.

Community Involvement: Engaging communities in responsible mining practices and providing alternative livelihoods can increase trust and promote sustainable growth. However, current and past community engagements models, yielded or are yielding  little, if any results.

Transparency and Accountability: Improving accountability and transparency in how mining revenues should be managed and distributed equitably  should be prioritized. Judging from what is happening in the sector, no amount of transparency or accountability will yield any positive results. Over the past few years, the men and women of the Ghana Police Service were charged with stopping illegal mining and they failed. After that the men and women of the Ghana Armed Forces received executive backing to stop the menace, and they also failed. If a reputable institution like the Armed Forces could not stop illegal mining, then we are doomed.

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