We Won’t Give Up on Galamsey Fight – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama says his government will not relent in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, despite the financial and logistical challenges involved in sustaining operations.

According to President Mahama, Ghana is making progress in efforts to reclaim forest reserves and other environmentally sensitive areas affected by illegal mining.

He said the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has intensified operations, leading to the seizure of excavators and changfang machines and the removal of illegal miners from several forest reserves.

President Mahama made the remarks during his Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper East Region, where he reaffirmed his government’s commitment to protecting the country’s forests, water bodies and other natural resources.

He noted that nearly 49 forest reserves had been invaded by illegal miners, but authorities had succeeded in clearing several of them.

The President explained that after the initial clearance operations, the reclaimed areas were handed over to the Forestry Commission. However, illegal miners reportedly returned because forest guards alone were unable to prevent their re-entry.

As a result, the government has begun deploying military personnel to some reclaimed forest reserves to prevent illegal miners from returning.

President Mahama acknowledged that maintaining the military deployments comes with additional costs, including feeding personnel and providing logistics.

He, however, stressed that the financial burden would not force the government to abandon the fight against illegal mining.

“We will not give up the fight,” he said, emphasising the government’s determination to protect Ghana’s natural resources.

Illegal mining remains a major environmental concern in Ghana, particularly due to its impact on forests and water bodies and the difficulty of preventing miners from returning to previously cleared areas.