Host of Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom-Otchere, has raised critical questions about the worsening state of illegal mining (galamsey) in Ghana, comparing the current crisis in 2025 to the early days of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration in 2017.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday October 18, Adom-Otchere acknowledged that although galamsey was already a major issue when Akufo-Addo took office, strong initial steps were taken to curb the practice — steps that now appear to have lost momentum.
“Obviously, galamsey was a problem when Akufo-Addo became president in 2017, and the record shows that in March 2017 he started working on it,” he said. “He initiated a ban on small-scale mining. The galamsey problem in 2025 is obviously worse than it was in 2017. Where is the ban on small-scale mining?”
The worsening galamsey situation has continued to dominate national discourse, with citizens, environmental groups, and community leaders expressing concern over the country’s degraded lands, polluted rivers, and health risks in mining areas.
While President Mahama’s government has pledged to introduce new strategies to combat illegal mining and promote responsible small-scale mining, critics argue that both current and past administrations have failed to sustain a long-term solution.
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