Illegal miners have reportedly taken over more than 50 acres of land directly behind the Kyebi office of environmental NGO, A-Rocha Ghana, leaving nearby buildings at risk of collapse.

The invasion, taking place in the Abuakwa South Municipality, involves more than 70 miners operating at least five excavators and other heavy equipment, according to a report by citinewsroom.com on May 15, 2026.

Mining activities reportedly continued day and night, turning the area into a high-intensity illegal mining zone.

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Residents say the operations have caused persistent noise, dust pollution, and extensive land degradation.

Parts of the A-Rocha Ghana office and nearby private homes are reportedly left “hanging” due to erosion caused by the mining.

A visiting European Union delegation, led by Ambassador Rune Skinnebach, toured the affected sites alongside journalists and police officers to assess the environmental governance challenges linked to illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

“Before coming here to this forest in the Kibi area, I’d heard a lot about galamsey. Today we have visited a couple of sites and seen what it does to nature,” Skinnebach said.

“We have started to understand the complexities of the galamsey issue,” he added.

The ambassador said weak enforcement and governance failures remain central to the crisis.
“We know that there are problems with enforcing this framework that has been laid down, and today we have seen, or partly understood, why,” he said.

Skinnebach warned that the pollution of water bodies remains one of the gravest consequences of illegal mining, noting that 65 percent of Ghana’s water bodies are now polluted due to galamsey activities.

“We can see whole communities benefiting from it in the short term. We’ve also seen the effects it has on nature,” he said.

The ambassador also linked illegal mining to broader concerns, including public health, corruption, governance, and security risks.

“We know that it has effects on the health of the workers, but also on ordinary Ghanaian consumers. Clearly, it has implications for governance, corruption, and security,” he said.

He urged Ghana to adopt long-term and sustainable strategies backed by stronger regulation and effective enforcement.

“To address a complex issue like galamsey, we need to think long term, we need sustainability, we need regulation, and we need enforcement of those regulations,” he said.

NAD/VPO

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