Economic policy analyst and convener of the OneGhana Movement, Senyo Hosi, has delivered a scathing critique of Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, warning that current interventions have failed to produce meaningful results.
Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile on August 22, 2026, in comments sighted by GhanaWeb on X, Hosi argued that despite arrests and the seizure of mining equipment by the National Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), the quality of water bodies, forest reserves and food security continues to deteriorate.
“All of that is absolutely moot. The effect of every single intervention must yield a certain output. Our water bodies, our forest reserves, the quality of food, the quality and security of our country,” he said.
Galamsey funding politics, churches and media - Senyo Hosi claims
Hosi questioned whether the measures being implemented were producing the desired policy outcomes.
“What is the data showing us? Have we made progress or have we regressed? Water quality: we are regressing. There’s no intervention that has yielded the policy impact we saw,” he added.
He noted that by June 2026, NAIMOS had arrested 207 people and impounded or destroyed thousands of pieces of mining equipment, but argued that such figures alone did not demonstrate success in the fight against illegal mining.
“By June of 2026, NAIMOS is responsible for the arrest of 207 people. Arrest one million people. People who are involved. Arrest one million people. And if, when you arrest 10 million or 200 million people, the water is not improving, it’s rather getting worse, tell me, what is the policy outcome of the intervention? So you have to be careful,” he said.
‘Policy evaluation is not done that way’
Hosi maintained that the government should measure the success of its anti-galamsey interventions by examining their impact on the environment rather than focusing primarily on arrests, equipment seizures and other activities.
“The water is not improving, despite the fact that by June, as I mentioned, NAIMOS had been able to impound and destroy. You see, again, you are making a mistake with policymaking. Policy evaluation is not done that way,” he said.
He argued that the continued deterioration of water bodies should force policymakers to reassess their approach and determine why existing interventions were not producing the expected results.
Hosi recalled that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s first term in office showed what he described as a genuine effort to tackle illegal mining, although he said political considerations eventually weakened the campaign.
“That’s how this thing has become. And it’s only going to get worse. We missed the opportunity in Akufo-Addo’s first term. And I have to give him credit for that first term. He genuinely fought galamsey till he gave in to the politics. And I keep saying that’s when we lost our precedent,” he noted.
He suggested that the situation could have been different if the government had maintained its initial resolve.
“If he maintained it and didn’t listen to the politics, we wouldn’t be where we are. Somehow, we are worse off. Nine months, say everything you want to say,” he said.
Hosi stressed that policymakers must shift their focus from the resources and activities deployed to fight illegal mining to the actual results achieved.
“This is the mistake we make in this country. We discuss policy from a point of input and not the output. That nonsense must stop,” he declared.
Watch his remarks below.
"Galamsey is funding our politics, churches, and media" - Senyo Hosi on galamsey. #Newsfile pic.twitter.com/PD0hNapayJ
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