According to a report by Joy News on Saturday, 24th May, 2025, the Catholic Bishops in Ghana have called on President John Dramani Mahama to declare a state of emergency in areas that have been badly affected by illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey. They believe this is an important step to help save the environment from further destruction.
During a meeting at the Jubilee House, the leader of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, presented several suggestions to help stop galamsey. He said the laws that allow easy access to mining licenses should be reviewed. He asked the government to stop giving out new licenses for small-scale mining until proper checks on the effects on the environment and communities are done.
Most Rev. Gyamfi went on to suggest that President Mahama should declare a limited state of emergency in the areas where galamsey is destroying the land and water bodies. He also said the government should send military engineering teams to help reclaim and restore damaged lands.
President Mahama responded by saying his government is already working hard to stop galamsey. He said many illegal miners have been removed from forest reserves, and their equipment has been taken away to stop them from causing more harm.
He also talked about the Ghana Gold Board, saying that it’s not just in charge of buying and exporting gold, but also helps small-scale miners to mine in safe and sustainable ways.
The President agreed with the bishops’ idea of asking small-scale miners to pay a bond for reclaiming land. He explained that this means some money from the gold they mine will be kept aside. If the miners restore the land after mining, they will get their money back. If not, the money will be used by the government to reclaim the land.
President Mahama said that already, 16% of Ghana’s forest reserves have been destroyed. He added that his government is planning to use money from the carbon credit system to help fix the damage.
He also talked about the economy and mentioned that his government is doing what it can to reduce the high cost of living for the people of Ghana.
