Security Consultant, Richard Kumadoe, has warned that the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is being undermined by entrenched political interests, making it difficult for the state to deal with the menace effectively.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, August 16, 2025, Mr. Kumadoe explained that while galamsey touches on political, business, national security, and safety concerns, the dominance of political and business interests has crippled efforts to resolve the problem.
“If you take away the political interest and leave the national security interest, you will be able to deal with it as quickly as possible. But the political interest is what is driving this issue about galamsey and the ineffectiveness, as to which we are looking at it,” he said.
The consultant expressed doubts about Ghana’s preparedness to win the war against illegal mining, saying the state has the institutional capacity but lacks the political will.
“I do not think we are really structured in the fight to win the war against the persons involved in galamsey,” he stated.
Recalling his last conversation with the late Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Mr. Kumadoe said they discussed progress in retrieving forest reserves from illegal miners and the importance of security risk assessments in shaping policy interventions.
He noted that if such measures had been sustained, Ghana would have made significant progress in reclaiming lands and forests lost to galamsey.
However, he stressed that political considerations continue to frustrate enforcement. “It is backed by political interest, and the politician wouldn’t want people to leave the galamsey site because that is where they make money from. So, it is not like it is a national threat that we cannot curtail.
“We have a fully equipped army, national security, NIB, and police with very serious departments and units. If you take away political interest, we will be able to deal with this as soon as possible.”
Mr. Kumadoe also cautioned that ignoring the root causes of galamsey could expose the country to further tragedies. “Trying to get rid of galamsey without doing anything about it, we are going to get some of the tragedies we witnessed on August 6,” he warned.
Source:channelonenewsonline.com
