Galamsey: State of emergency insufficient without practical, well-structured policies — Paa Kwasi Schandorf

Media Relations Officer at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Paa Kwasi Schandorf, says declaring a state of emergency to fight illegal mining, also known as galamsey, would be ineffective without clear and practical policies to back it.

According to him, while such a declaration may signal seriousness, it risks becoming symbolic if not supported by well-structured implementation frameworks.

Speaking on Accra-based GHOne TV on Wednesday, June 18, Mr. Schandorf likened the situation to someone making a public pledge to change without taking real steps to follow through.

“It is going to send a very strong signal. But if the policies on the ground are not being practically implemented, what are you doing? Of course, it would appear as though you are mounting a very vicious and non-negotiable fight, but beyond that, if you don’t have a properly structured policy mechanism to deal with the issue—like the five-prong approach that the Minister has employed—then where are we going?” he asked.

He stressed, “That is why I liken it to a believer who, on the first of January, proclaims dedication to pure living but still keeps cigarettes, alcohol, and other things that contradict that commitment. What then becomes the effect of that public proclamation of purity, when in actual sense, you are not discarding the very things that enable the unrighteous conduct?”

Schandorf’s comments come amid growing calls for President John Mahama to declare a state of emergency over the escalating environmental and health threats posed by illegal mining activities across the country.