Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, clarified Monday that President John Dramani Mahama never set a timeline for eradicating illegal mining, or “galamsey,” pushing back against criticism over the government's handling of the issue.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said that any assessment of the president’s performance should be rooted in “his own words and actions.”
“To be fair, if you want to assess a president, you will have to take him by his own words and actions—the commitments that he made,” Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said. “President Mahama did not give any timelines to ending galamsey.”
Illegal small-scale gold mining has long plagued Ghana’s natural environment, polluting water bodies and degrading farmlands. Efforts to address the practice have often been met with resistance from local communities who rely on the activity for income.
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu noted that in his most recent media engagement, Mr. Mahama acknowledged the complexity of tackling galamsey and cautioned against expectations of a quick fix.
“He said at the media encounter that he was not under any illusion that, by the wink of a magic wand, galamsey would end—because it is an insidious problem,” Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said.
The minister emphasized that while progress has been uneven, the government remains committed to curbing illegal mining through a combination of enforcement and regulatory reforms.
“Government fully appreciates the genuine concerns people have expressed on galamsey, and these are not matters we take lightly,” he said, referencing the ecological and human cost of the activity, including widespread contamination of rivers and destruction of farmland.
He reiterated that the fight against galamsey cannot rest solely on government action, urging collective responsibility and calling on Ghanaians to support anti-galamsey measures.
“We cannot pretend it is an easy fight,” Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said. “But what we can assure Ghanaians is that the government has not lost sight of its duty to protect lives, livelihoods and the environment.”
He also warned against political interference and called for a unified front in preserving Ghana’s natural resources.
“We must all rally behind the measures being implemented,” he said. “The survival of our water bodies and farmlands cannot be compromised.”
