By Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Dr Akpeko Agbevade, has welcomed the government’s adoption of a bottom-up approach in the fight against illegal mining (galamsey), a strategy championed by President John Dramani Mahama.
The approach involves engaging traditional authorities, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs), and local assemblies in efforts to curb illegal mining activities.
“I’m happy to hear that the government has adopted the bottom-up approach in this fight, where chiefs, MMDCEs and district assemblies are now involved,” Dr Agbevade said on GBC’s Current Agenda programme on Saturday, October 4, 2025.
He stressed that effective implementation and strict enforcement were crucial to ending the menace. He also emphasised the need for a change in public attitudes, promoting ethical and professional behaviour in the sector.
Dr Agbevade further noted that not everyone supported calls for a state of emergency on galamsey, arguing that the issue could be addressed through a combination of strategies rather than a single approach.
Also contributing to the discussion, Dr John Osae-Kwapong, Democracy and Development Fellow at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), cautioned against reverting to past practices after making progress in the fight. He referenced the previous government’s ban on small-scale mining, which initially yielded results but ultimately saw the country return to previous challenges.
“For me, a successful fight is about reaching a point where we stop going through cycles of progress and regression — and even if galamsey is not eliminated completely, it is reduced to the barest minimum,” he said.
The discussion follows President Mahama’s engagement with civil society organisations (CSOs) on October 3, 2025, aimed at developing a collaborative roadmap to tackle galamsey and highlighting some of the gains made so far in the fight.
