On 3rd October 2025, President Mahama engaged over 50 civil society organisations, religious bodies, professional associations, student bodies, etc. on Galamsey.
Here is a breakdown of “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of the engagement based on observations by Mr. Kwadwo Kyei Yamoah, Executive Director of HELP Foundation Africa
Summary
The Good: The meeting yielded important political signaling of the presidential pledge and openness to a State of Emergency if warranted, and a commitment to intensify security operations and arrests, which is the “good” because it aligns the Presidency with civil society pressure to make public commitments.
The meeting was representative and has key representatives from Government and the ruling party as well as the invitees (CSOs, Academia, Religious Bodies, etc), however the next meeting should be at a bigger venue with expanded invitations to other identifiable groups, CSOs, etc..
The “bad” is the lack of immediately published benchmarks/ milestones, timelines, and a clear plan for prosecutions; much of these remain at the promise stage.
The presentation on the water quality made by the Water Resources Commission was selective, biased and misleading, that was the worst presentation at the meeting.
It seems the alternative livelihoods schemes have not been properly packaged to be sustainable and attractive enough for those engaged in Galamsey.
There was no established communication unit/ desk/ contact to receive or collate post-engagement inputs, concerns, submissions or recommendations to support the anti-galamsey action, etc.
The “ugly” included the burning of galamsey machines (Changfan) directly on the rivers by NAIMOS, this have serious adverse impacts on rivers and aquatic ecosystems and will further increase the contamination and pollution of the rivers,Dunkwa interview will be on Thursday
So those of you from Dunkwa will not go to Tarkwa again because of the release of toxic chemicals, heat, soot, etc. from the burning of the fuel and other petroleum products in the machines; this have dangerous impact on the aquatic life, water quality, and human health. (This would be avoided, rather alternative ways of disposing the machines should be looked at)
Another risk is that without judicial follow-through (fast-track prosecutions) and specific targeting of the kingpins; enforcement will be temporary and possibly punitive to only the poorest people, leaving the structural drivers (Kingpins or politically exposed persons) untouched.
The meeting seems to have endorsed the desire to increase the budget allocation for anti-galamsey activities; But increasing the budget may not yield the desired results without anti-corruption safeguards, independent monitoring, performance benchmarks and milestones.
Quick priority recommendation (which actions to push first)
1. Publish transparent benchmarks that would trigger a state of emergency. This would convert the political rhetoric into measurable triggers and addresses CSO demand for clarity.
2. Public prosecution dashboard: require the Attorney-General/EOCO to publish a regular dashboard showing arrests → charges → trials → convictions, and list “named” cases including kingpins and politically exposed persons. This will tackle the trust deficit.
3. Improving the transparency of information on impacts of Galamsey: Quarterly publication of Water index and heavy metal analysis on all affected water bodies, Toxicology Assessment on crops and food items, outcome of Investigations into Kingpins and financiers of Galamsey
4. Secure & sustain reclaimed zones: pair security operations with post-clearance monitoring and community engagement so cleared forests/water bodies are not re-occupied. There could be an open and transparent forest monitoring with community members; the formation of community-forest management systems such as CREMA in recovered forest areas would be good.
Suggested Monitoring Indicators (to include in a follow-up civil society scorecard)
1. Benchmarks published with dates and indicators.
2. Arrests →and Prosecutions → Convictions including kingpins: % breakdown within 12 months.
3. Hectares reclaimed & retained: hectares cleared and still clear after 6/12 months.
4. Machines seized/destroyed: number and disposition.
5. Number of fast-track court sessions: cases tried per month including Kingpins. And protection progress: number and type.
6. Budget lines for alternative livelihoods and impacts made: GH₵ allocated vs disbursed vs impact.
Recommendation
The Formation of an independent anti-galamsey oversight committee (with reps from CSOs, religious bodies, Academia, media, judiciary, etc) could address the trust deficit, suspicion of internal & external politics, etc
Quarterly multi-stakeholder engagements on Galamsey to review performance and impacts of anti-galamsey actions would also be a good platform for continuous inclusive dialogue, etc.
By Mr. Kwadwo Kyei Yamoah, Executive Director of HELP Foundation Africa.
