Ghana now a ‘Galam-State’ – Prof. Aning predicts doom over failed illegal mining fight

Security analyst, Prof. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning says Ghana has been thrown into what can best be described as a ‘GalamState’, due to the failure of state actors to clamp down on illegal mining activities popularly known as galamsey.

Prof. Aning likens the failed fight against the canker to crime convergence, where the mistrust in the security agencies and almost non-existent laws have encouraged many to engage in illegality with impunity.

Speaking at a CSO post-engagement with political parties on mining at Aburi, Prof. Anning warned that Ghana could soon witness the worst security, environmental, and economic effects of destructive galamsey activities.

“Ghana has now been characterised as a ‘GalamState’, ‘GalamState’ is a state that is captured, and linked to a higher force of grand corruption. In a ‘GalamState’, the practice is normalized and the people are silenced or limited to mere noises on the sidelines.

“In a ‘GalamState’, there is a perfect blend between criminally minded politicians and politically minded criminal gangs, creating a hybrid form of governance. In such a scenario, the traditional rule of the state to arrest, investigate prosecute, adjudicate cases of accused persons, and incarcerate or fine them which are key ingredients to the state’s resilience are not present.

“Ghana has reached the stage, where the next stage, where the consolidation of the GalamState would be the forming of 'mafia' criminal gangs.

“The crimes and collusion are so intertwined. To stop galamsey, we need to look at multiple other institutions that make these crimes possible and where there are embedded individual and group interests.”

—citinewsroom