The Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), Prof Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has bemoaned the country’s failure to fight illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’.

He asserted that Ghana’s failure to fight ‘galamsey’ should not be a surprise because of the failure of successive governments to check some activities in the country.

He cited the failure of the government to regulate the activities of commercial motor and tricycle riders as a reason for the government's inability to fight ‘galamsey’; stressing that he is not surprised.

Galamsey has become worse – Acting Chief Justice

“How can a state that cannot regulate trotro, okada, or aboboyaa, or check the proliferation of slum settlements on public land, fight galamsey! BROKEN WINDOWS!” he wrote in a post shared on Facebook, on September 29, 2025.

The remarks of Prof Kwasi Prempeh, who is also the Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), come following criticism against the government over a seeming lax in the fight against ‘galamsey’.

Criticisms against the government stem from President John Dramani Mahama’s statement that his administration seeks to exhaust other means of combating illegal mining before resorting to a state of emergency.

The Acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has also asserted that the menace of illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’, has become worse.

Speaking at the 2025 Ghana Bar Association Conference, which was held in the Upper West Regional capital, Wa, on Monday, September 15, 2025, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie called on the government to take action against illegal mining.

He urged the government to address the menace as a matter of urgency.

State of emergency on galamsey is still on the table – Kwakye Ofosu

“Galamsey has become worse; the time to act is now,” the Acting Chief Justice is reported to have said.

He suggested that the government could start by banning mining in forest reserves if it is serious about tackling ‘galamsey’.

He, therefore, called on the government to repeal LI 2462, which allows mining in forest reserves.

“We cannot continue to dither in September 2025 on the repeal of L.I. 2462 that has permitted mining in forest reserves. It is a good place to start if we sincerely want to win the war against galamsey. The time to act is now without any further delay,” the Acting Chief Justice is quoted to have said.



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