MAHAMA: I’LL DECLARE STATE OF EMERGENCY ON GALAMSEY IF SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS IT
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

President John Dramani Mahama has declared his readiness to impose a state of emergency in areas ravaged by illegal mining, known as galamsey, if the National Security Council advises him to do so.

Addressing civil society groups during a stakeholder dialogue in Accra on Friday, October 3, the President said while he has the constitutional authority to act, such a drastic step must be backed by intelligence and security assessments.

“As at now, the National Security Council believes that we can win the fight against galamsey without a state of emergency. But the day they advise me otherwise, that we need a state of emergency, I will not hesitate in declaring it,” Mahama stated.

The President’s remarks come amid mounting pressure from civil society organisations, religious bodies, and environmental activists who have urged the government to treat the galamsey menace as a national emergency. They argue that the scale of destruction, poisoned rivers, devastated forests, and collapsing farmlands, requires extraordinary state measures.

In recent months, the Christian Council of Ghana, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and several CSOs have warned that failure to act decisively could cause irreversible damage to Ghana’s natural environment and threaten rural livelihoods.

Mahama, however, maintained that government’s current approach is producing results. He cited the deployment of more troops, resourcing of joint task forces, and the allocation of extra logistics as part of ongoing measures to curb illegal mining.

“This is not going to be a one-off dialogue. We will continue to engage, report transparently on progress, and ensure the ministries responsible for lands and the environment deliver results,” he assured.

The President urged civil society to sustain advocacy and public pressure to keep state institutions accountable.

He also stressed his commitment to protecting Ghana’s natural heritage for future generations, warning against passing down “poisoned rivers and desecrated forests” as a legacy.

“Our forefathers handed us a beautiful country with forests, trees and rivers. We must hand over the same, not destruction, to our children and grandchildren,” Mahama said, adding that he has “no personal interest in galamsey” and will continue the fight until meaningful progress is made.


Discover more from Hot Stories Ghana

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *