Galamsey: No more shielding of criminals for political convenience — FixTheCountry to Mahama

FixTheCountry Movement has called on President John Mahama to take decisive action against illegal small-scale mining, known locally as galamsey and stop the trend of protecting those involved for political gain.

The group, in a statement dated March 24, accused the government of failing to match its campaign promises with real action, three months into its tenure.

They argue that despite assurances to treat galamsey as a national emergency, the menace persists while authorities look the other way.

“We demand an end to political cover-ups. Government officials and party members involved in illegal mining must be exposed and punished. No more shielding of criminals for political convenience,” the statement reads in part.

“The district assemblies are fully aware of the number of excavators operating within their jurisdictions. The government knows the foreign companies that have set up businesses to hire excavators to illegal miners. The government also knows the individuals and entities with mining licenses—who is operating legally and who is not,” the group stated.

They also criticised the government’s recent decision to introduce “water guards” to protect rivers, describing it as a distraction meant to deceive the public while illegal miners continue their destruction.

“We do not need ‘water guards’—we need enforcement of the law. We need real action, not more committees and task forces that have historically failed,” they added.