Senior Multimedia journalist, Erastus Asare Donkor, has launched a blistering critique of President John Dramani Mahama’s recent submission on the government’s approach to the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
According to Erastus, the President’s posture “did not inspire hope and urgency” in addressing what has become one of Ghana’s most pressing environmental crises. Instead, he argued, Mr. Mahama watered down the severity of the situation, reflecting what he described as “complicity” and a tendency to downplay infractions on the ground.
“I totally disagree with him on the withdrawal of the IGP’s men and accusing them of not knowing the difference between legal small-scale miners and illegal miners. That is a total fallacy,” Erastus wrote. “It shows that it’s either the President was ill-briefed about the situation on the ground, or he was totally clueless of what happens on the ground.”
The award-winning journalist challenged the President to point to a single licensed small-scale mining company that is operating responsibly in accordance with Ghana’s laws. He further questioned how small-scale miners ended up in forest reserves and on the banks of major rivers when such activities are explicitly prohibited.
“In a normal civilized society, is it not the police that is clothed with law enforcement? How different are nature crimes from the armed robberies that the police fight?” Erastus asked, criticizing the President’s suggestion that local police officers should not directly pursue illegal miners.
Erastus also condemned President Mahama’s argument that illegal miners cannot be chased away without government first providing them with alternatives. He compared it to telling “armed robbers, money doublers and scammers to continue with their criminal activities until government finds employment for them.”
The journalist painted a grim picture of the devastation caused by galamsey:
- Over 60% of Ghana’s waterbodies polluted with heavy metals
- 44 forest reserves attacked in just eight years
- Towns, villages, and highways taken over by haphazard mining pits
- Cocoa production under threat and exports at risk of contamination
- Rising childhood cancers and deformities linked to irresponsible mining
Erastus insisted that the IGP’s task force, despite its flaws, was effective in bringing illegal mining activities under control, but suggested that political interference and vested interests within the ruling party undermined their work.
“Mr President, some of your party executives and appointees who were not happy with the way they were pouring sand in their gari, started a propagandist agenda to ‘give the dog a bad name just to hang it,’” he wrote.
He revealed that following Mahama’s comments, illegal miners in areas such as Samereboi have been emboldened, holding meetings and claiming they have been given the green light to return to their activities.
For Erastus, the solution to galamsey lies not in cosmetic measures like “blue water guards,” but in making clear and uncompromising declarations that certain zones—such as rivers and forest reserves—are no-go areas for mining.
Lamenting the deep partisan divisions that cloud national discourse, he warned that Ghanaians risk losing their environment, future generations, and livelihoods to galamsey if leaders and citizens alike fail to act decisively.
“The media is failing this country,” he declared. “If only we would be serious about this, we could help push us all towards responsible mining.”
