OccupyGhana has once again raised alarm over the growing threat of illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey, urging government to enforce existing mining laws without fear or favour.
In an open letter dated September 29, 2025, the civil society group called on President John Mahama to take immediate action against the menace, describing it as a national crisis destroying water bodies, farmlands, and the environment.
The timing of the letter, according to OccupyGhana, coincides with the third anniversary of a similar petition it sent to former President Akufo-Addo in 2022.
That earlier correspondence, the group recalled, condemned the government’s inability to stop galamsey and accused officials and community leaders of “either incompetence or complicity in the environmental destruction and water poisoning.”
Quoting from the original document, OccupyGhana stated, “In the letter, we noted that the legal framework and enforcement institutions already exist, pointed to the President’s public pledge (10 July 2017) to end Galamsey, and said that those promises have gone unfulfilled. We therefore demanded immediate, impartial enforcement of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), warning that we would send weekly reminders to the President.”
The group stressed that it wrote eight letters over an eight-week period to President Akufo-Addo without receiving even an acknowledgment. “Little was done to halt the menace,” the group maintained.
Renewing its demands to President Mahama, OccupyGhana added, “On this third anniversary of that letter, we are sending it to you, as the current occupant of that office, just in the form that we sent it to the then President, and demanding immediate action to deal with the issue. We will repeat this on the third anniversary of each of the seven reminders, in the hope that your Government will rise to the challenge and address this issue once and for all.”
The open letter, copied to all media houses, is part of the group’s strategy to keep public attention on the galamsey crisis and to mount pressure on government for urgent solutions.
Meanwhile, President Mahama is scheduled to meet over 50 civil society organisations (CSOs) at Jubilee House on Friday, October 3, 2025.
The high-level dialogue will focus on tackling illegal mining, which many advocacy groups say has reached emergency levels in mining communities severely hit by pollution and land degradation.
Below are copies of the documents
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
