Mahama Vows to Target ‘Big Fishes’ in Galamsey Crackdown, Announces Intensified Prosecutions
President Mahama announces specialized prosecutorial teams to fast-track galamsey cases and target financiers behind illegal mining operations
- Mahama vows to focus on financiers and organizers behind illegal mining, not just low-level offenders
- Dedicated teams have been deployed to fast-track galamsey cases, present evidence, and seize equipment and proceeds
- The crackdown aims to curb illegal mining in 140 high-risk communities and protect Ghana’s forests, rivers, and public health
President John Mahama has declared a strategic shift in Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, signaling a focus on the powerful financiers and organizers behind the destructive operations rather than just low-level offenders.
Addressing Parliament during his State of the Nation Address on Friday, Mahama described illegal mining as a “grave threat” to Ghana’s environment, water bodies, public health, and national security. He acknowledged that previous enforcement measures often failed to apprehend those most responsible.
“Prosecution of persons engaged in illegal mining has been intense,” Mahama told lawmakers. “However, past efforts focused on low-level offenders while the ‘big fish’ behind these operations largely escaped justice.”
To correct this, the President announced the deployment of specialized prosecutorial teams tasked with fast-tracking illegal mining cases, presenting evidence effectively, and pursuing the confiscation of equipment and proceeds derived from illicit operations.
He highlighted that 140 communities, primarily towns and villages, are highly vulnerable to illegal mining activities and will receive targeted enforcement.
“These specialized teams are mandated to ensure that justice reaches the upper echelons of the illicit trade, dismantling the networks that sustain galamsey,” Mahama said.
The announcement marks a renewed government crackdown aimed at halting the environmental destruction and pollution caused by illegal mining, with a clear focus on financiers and beneficiaries—the so-called ‘big fish’—to disrupt the economic systems that perpetuate the crisis.
