EPA DEPUTY CEO WARNS AGAINST STATE OF EMERGENCY IN MINING AREAS – BUT WHERE HAS THE EPA BEEN ALL THIS TIME?

The Deputy Chief Executive for Operations at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Professor Michael Ayamga-Adongo, has cautioned that declaring a state of emergency in illegal mining areas could backfire, potentially triggering violent conflicts in local communities.

His warning follows growing pressure from civil society groups and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference for government to take tougher action against galamsey.

In an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse, Professor Ayamga-Adongo stressed that the character of galamsey has changed. Once dominated by foreign financiers and local business interests, it is now deeply rooted in many communities. “If we take in guns there, we are going to have a blood bath,” he warned, adding that the human cost of such a move could be enormous without even guaranteeing an end to the menace.

But here is the question many Ghanaians are asking: where has the EPA been all this time? Illegal mining has been eating away at our rivers, destroying farmlands, and poisoning water bodies for years. The agency, mandated to protect our environment, has too often appeared silent, surfacing only to issue warnings or advice. And now, instead of putting forward tangible solutions, the EPA is cautioning against action without offering alternatives.

Yes, Ghanaians appreciate the advice, but what we truly need are concrete strategies. Couldn’t the EPA lead in proposing community-centred solutions? Couldn’t they champion sustainable alternatives that tackle unemployment, which often drives locals into galamsey?

The truth is, we don’t just need warnings, we need leadership. If the EPA wants to win back public trust, it must step beyond cautionary words and actively partner with government and communities to fix the problem it was created to address.