President John Dramani Mahama has called on chiefs and traditional rulers to support the government’s campaign against illegal mining, known as galamsey, warning that enforcement must be matched by alternative livelihoods for affected communities.
He said the cooperation of traditional authorities was essential because chiefs were closely connected to residents and held significant influence in areas where illegal mining continues.
Mr Mahama made the appeal when he met members of the Western North Regional House of Chiefs at the Presidency, Jubilee House, in Accra.
The President said the government, traditional authorities and security agencies needed to work more closely to tackle the environmental and security problems associated with illegal mining.
He acknowledged the work of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), but said its officers sometimes faced opposition from residents and, in some cases, traditional authorities during enforcement operations.
According to Mr Mahama, such resistance weakened efforts to stop illegal mining and risked turning confrontations into violent incidents. He said the involvement of chiefs and community leaders was therefore necessary if the government was to achieve lasting results.
“We need the help of our chiefs in the fight against galamsey because you live in the community with the people, and sometimes NAIMOS is doing a good job, but sometimes we go into some communities and the youth and the traditional authorities and everybody fight back at NAIMOS,” he said.
“There are incidents where the soldiers have had to discharge firearms, which resulted in a few deaths. We want to avoid that, and so if we can get the collaboration of our chiefs to help in the fight against illegal mining, especially in our forest reserves and in our water bodies.”
The government’s appeal comes as it continues to intensify action against illegal mining in forest reserves and locations where mining is threatening rivers and other water bodies.
Mr Mahama also stressed the importance of providing alternative livelihood opportunities alongside enforcement, seeking to address the economic pressures affecting communities involved in galamsey.
