Ghana’s battle against illegal small-scale mining—commonly known as galamsey—remains locked in a fierce political and policy debate. At the center of the recent discourse is a crucial distinction: does granting mining permits bring order to the sector, or does it merely give cover to unlawful environmental destruction?
Addressing this issue on JoyPrime TV, Awal Mohammed, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team, rejected claims that the previous administration sanctioned galamsey. Instead, he argued that issuing official small-scale mining permits was a strategic effort to bring operators into a legal framework rather than endorsing unregulated mining.
During its tenure from 2017 to 2025, the NPP government significantly expanded official access to small-scale mining concessions.
2009–2016: 59 small-scale mining licenses issued.
2017–2025: 2,151 small-scale mining licenses issued.
The former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, previously championed this approach. The core strategy relied on the idea that offering formal pathways would convert wildcat miners into compliant, regulated operators.
The Fine Line Between Legal Mining and Galamsey
While the NPP maintains that granting a permit is fundamentally distinct from tolerating illegal operations, critics and environmental advocates argue that a license on paper does not automatically guarantee lawful behavior on the ground.
Ghana Seems To Have Lost The Fight Against Galamsey
A permit authorizes mining under specific conditions, but an operator crosses into illegal territory the moment they violate environmental safety protocols, breach concession boundaries, or pollute protected water bodies.
The persistent degradation of Ghana’s rivers, agricultural lands, and forest reserves has fueled skepticism around licensing as a standalone solution. Civil society groups and policy experts point out that expanding permits without equal investments in enforcement creates major loopholes:
Compliance Failures: Licensees frequently disregard safety guidelines and environmental limits.
Monitoring Deficits: Regulatory bodies often lack the resources or political backing to continuously police active concessions.
Accountability Gaps: Without swift punishment for violations, legitimate permits can inadvertently shield illicit practices.
Mohammed’s remarks highlight the ongoing blame game between the NPP and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) over who bears responsibility for the country’s environmental crisis. While the NPP points to its licensing numbers and structural reforms, critics argue those steps failed to halt the destruction of vital natural resources.
Ultimately, resolving Ghana’s galamsey menace requires more than tracking the volume of licenses handed out. True success depends on rigorous enforcement, continuous environmental monitoring, and holding all operators—licensed or not—fully accountable under the law.