The West African Regional Director of CUTS International, Appiah Kusi Adomako, has called on the government to allocate part of the funds used in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, to support the country’s frontline research institutions.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, October 4, 2025, Mr. Adomako said that while the government continues to spend heavily on security operations and taskforces in the fight against galamsey, some allocation should be given to Ghana Standards Authority, the Food and Drugs Authority, and our universities to research on our foods and other chemicals which might in our water that can cause harm
“The government needs to give our front-line research institutions money, I think we are giving all the money to the galamsey fight, but some needs to go to the Ghana Standard Authorities, Food and Drugs Authority university research institutions for them to also be able to do research on what the push and pull factors are and also the food, water.
“The Director General of Water Resource Commission came with a report on the turbidity level of water, but there may be some poisonous substances that may not cause the water to be turbid, but then you may see the water to be clear but still polluted. There may be some acidic substances, carcinogenic substances that may not affect the turbidity level, but will still be poisonous and harmful to human life.”he said
He also indicated that the government needs to regulate and monitor chemical substances such as mercury, which is used in illegal mining on the market
“Yesterday, I also didn’t hear about the control of liquid substances that are used for galamsey. The minister talked about a new regulatory regime for excavators and changfans, but what about the mercury? Those chemicals have been used; what is the level of regulation on it? This is also something that if we can control the market of those products, I think that we will be able to make progress in the fight against galamsey” he added