Coalition Against Galamsey slams Akufo-Addo's 'shameful' inaction on illegal Mining

The Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey has strongly criticised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s recent speech at the COP29 UN Climate Summit. Speaking during a plenary session on Tuesday, 12th November 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan, President Akufo-Addo highlighted his administration’s commitment to combating climate change to secure a safer environment for future generations.

He stated:

Our goal is to cut emissions by 64 million metric tonnes by 2030, demanding investments between 10 and 15 billion dollars. Despite financial and technical hurdles, we're determined to meet the Paris Agreement's goals across agriculture, transport, forestry, energy and other sectors. We have made strides. The Green Ghana project has planted 50 million trees, and forest restoration efforts have covered 721,000 hectares since 2017, when I assumed office.

However, the coalition has challenged this claim, arguing that it directly contradicts the government’s record of “inaction, which has resulted in an unprecedented escalation of illegal and irresponsible mining across the entire country, leaving forests, agricultural lands, rivers and water bodies destroyed.”

In a statement dated Thursday, 21st November 2024, and signed by its convener, Ing. Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, the coalition expressed concern that the Green Ghana initiative has failed to safeguard the environment, while policies such as Regulation L.I. 2462 have undermined environmental protection by allowing mining in forest reserves.

Instead of genuine restoration, our lived reality has been staggeringly devastating. Over 48,000 hectares of gazetted forest reserves are earmarked for conversion to mining areas, with 4,800 hectares already destroyed by Ghana’s irresponsible mining pursuit.

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) reports that over 68% of cocoa farmlands in the Ashanti Region, 81% in the Eastern Region, and 74% in the Western Region have been severely affected by illegal mining. Between 2022 and 2023 alone, an estimated 21,000 hectares of cocoa farms were lost to the galamsey scourge.

The coalition bluntly questioned the President about the status of his recent commitments to Organised Labour concerning the renewed fight against illegal mining.

The group asked:

What happened to the promises you made to the people of Ghana—the botched fight against galamsey, the broken commitments to citizens, and the failed assurances of enhanced measures? You vowed to deploy the military to protect our rivers. Where are the updates, and what tangible results can you show Ghanaians?

The Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey further accused the President of presiding over the most severe environmental destruction in the nation’s history.

Under your watch, Ghana has endured one of the most shockingly devastating episodes of environmental destruction in its history. Our forests have been razed, our rivers poisoned, and our farmlands degraded—all at the hands of illegal and irresponsible mining, which you have failed to address decisively.

The coalition emphasised that the President’s failure to act on the destruction caused by illegal mining is “threatening the lives of powerless rural communities who have no alternative water sources,” describing the situation as “deeply shameful, lacking intergenerational vision, and reflective of poor leadership and natural resource governance.”

In Ghana, galamsey refers to unregulated small-scale gold mining activities conducted without official permits or oversight. The term originates from the phrase “gather them and sell,” reflecting the informal and often unlawful nature of these operations. Galamsey has led to extensive environmental damage, with around 60% of Ghana’s rivers, including the Oda, Offin, Prah, and Densu rivers, heavily polluted by mercury and cyanide.

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