GALAMSEY: THE FIGHT WE CANNOT WIN

Illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey in Ghana, refers to the unlawful extraction of minerals without the necessary license or adherence to regulations. What often begins as a simple search for livelihood has evolved into a national crisis with far-reaching consequences for health, the environment, education, food security, and even national stability.

Communities near galamsey sites are the first victims. Toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide, used in processing gold, seep into rivers and streams, contaminating water supplies. The results are alarming, skin infections, kidney damage, and cancers on the rise. The miners, often working without protective gear, inhale dust that causes silicosis, tuberculosis, and other deadly respiratory diseases.

The once fertile lands that sustained generations are now barren. Forests are cleared indiscriminately, rivers are poisoned, and biodiversity is destroyed. Deep pits are abandoned as death traps for unsuspecting humans and animals. What remains is an environmental wound that may take decades to heal, if it heals at all. Unfortunately…

… Galamsey, is the fight we cannot win

Perhaps one of the most painful effects of galamsey is the declining interest in education among children. Young boys and girls abandon classrooms for the lure of quick money. Dreams of becoming doctors, farmers, teachers, engineers, and leaders are sacrificed for short-lived gains. This creates a vicious cycle of poverty and ignorance, robbing the nation of its future human resource.

Farmlands once green with crops are now wastelands of gravel and toxic chemicals. Polluted rivers no longer support irrigation, and displaced farmers struggle to survive. Food production dwindles, prices soar, and Ghana risks growing dependence on imports to feed her people.

Galamsey is not just an environmental disaster, it is a threat to national security. Armed groups and miners clash over territories, often with deadly consequences. The infiltration of foreign nationals raises questions about border control and sovereignty. And the swelling ranks of unemployed youth engaged in galamsey provide fertile ground for crime, violence, and unrest. Which is why I said…

… Galamsey, is the fight we cannot win

Until recently, I had never seen unrefined gold. That changed when I joined a task force deployed to one of the regions, a special taskforce, established by the current Inspector-General of Police, (IGP), which forms part of the President’s renewed efforts to clamp down on the menace of illegal mining (galamsey).

For security reasons, I will withhold certain details, but the experience left an unforgettable mark on me.

At first, my excitement was high, finally, I would see raw gold with my own eyes. What greeted me was not wealth, it was devastation. Man-made rivers stretched across the landscape, resembling the Tagba waters in Aflao, my hometown, but these were no natural streams. They were filthy, poisoned with mercury, cyanide, and other dangerous chemicals.

I froze, mouth open, eyes wide. Out of anger, I whispered to a colleague, I wished some supernatural force could take lives and end it all instantly. The destruction was unbearable to watch. Yet, my duty was not to flee, but to correct. But I had my doubts, and insisted that…

… Galamsey, is the fight we cannot win

Over the next few days, the horror deepened. Communities were scarred with pits, poisoned waters, and dying farmlands. I realized that galamsey is not just about miners with shovels, water pumping machines and excavators, it is a system powered by corruption, complicity, wickedness, and greed.

Many of the very people who speak publicly against galamsey, politicians, chiefs, traditional rulers, clergy, and opinion leaders, are quietly benefiting from it. Even worse, some residents whose lives and health are directly at risk openly defend the practice, blinded by short-term financial gains.

Experts have long warned us. Our major rivers are turning brown with mercury and cyanide. Our fertile lands are stripped bare. Children are abandoning classrooms, lured by quick money. And yet, instead of decisive action, we see institutions weakened and leaders compromised. Then, my fear was confirmed…

… Galamsey, is the fight we cannot win

Ironically, the colonial masters accused of plundering our gold centuries ago never inflicted such permanent environmental destruction as we are doing to ourselves today.

Security task forces are sabotaged. Some officers are entrapped, while others are betrayed by their own colleagues, and faceless civilian informants. Miners now exchange gunfire with security officers with impunity, emboldened by powerful backers.

Even after the recent tragic loss of eight of our prominent citizens, Ghana showed little genuine concern. We gathered in hypocrisy, shedding crocodile tears, shaking bloodstained hands, pretending to mourn the departed. Yet, in no time, we rushed back to continue destroying the very land and water they sacrificed their lives to protect for generations after us. I think, even Ghana agrees with me that…

… Galamsey, is the fight we cannot win

Just days ago, I read reports of security personnel being withdrawn over bribery allegations. Almost immediately, illegal miners announced their return to the very sites they had been chased from. That development only confirmed what I had already told a colleague in the field: this is a fight we cannot win.

Behind galamsey are shadowy investors, shielded by political, religious, and traditional powers. They enrich themselves while local communities drink poisoned water, farm barren soils, and watch their children drop out of school.

This is not a distant problem, it is here with us, threatening our survival as a nation. Every poisoned river, every abandoned school, every lost farmland, and every compromised institution pushes us closer to collapse.

Maybe, just maybe, there’s a window of hope. The clergy, should go back to God, politicians should demonstrate their political will, and traditional authorities should reverend the sacred forests and water bodies.

Until Ghana chooses to confront these with honesty and courage.

…Galamsey will remain a fight we cannot win.

Writer: Sattey Yaw Stephen, from Aflao in the Volta Region, student leader and public servant. The SRC President and governing council member of AUCB, Chairperson of GUPS Recreational Committee, senate member of PUSAG, and a member of the 58th NUGS Central Committee. Serves as a Police Inspector with the NFPU and a former Station Officer of the Aflao FPU, committed to peace, security, and national student advocacy.