If we’re serious about combating galamsey, we need to provide adequate funding – Steve Manteaw

The Co-Chair of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) Dr. Steve Manteaw, believes that Ghana needs to put its money where its mouth is to combat galamsey.

He advocates for a genuine commitment and dedicated budgetary allocation to tackle the issue, rather than just paying lip service.

Dr. Steve Manteaw, shared his insights during a sideline interview at the Mining for Development Forum held in Tarkwa, organized by the Ghana Chamber of Mines.

For years, Ghana’s economy has benefited significantly from mineral resource mining, contributing over $482 million to GDP in 2023 alone.

However, illegal gold mining, commonly known as galamsey, has simultaneously wreaked havoc on the environment.

This destructive practice has ravaged water bodies, forest reserves, cocoa farms, and the broader ecosystem.

Despite government regulation through the Minerals Commission, data reveals a disturbing intensification of illegal mining activities over the past 12 years.

The fight against galamsey in Ghana has been ongoing for years, but despite efforts by the president Akufo-Addo administration, the problem persists. Deploying task forces, including the military, and burning excavators of illegal miners haven’t yielded the desired results.

In view of this Dr. Steve Manteaw emphasizes the need for a budgetary allocation to combat illegal mining effectively.

“Upon reviewing Ghana’s national budgets for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, I was dismayed to find no dedicated budget line for combating galamsey. This omission suggests a lack of genuine commitment to addressing the issue”.

“As someone familiar with the costs involved, I know that evacuating a single excavator is prohibitively expensive for local assemblies. Yet, none of the budgets allocate funds for galamsey-endemic areas to fight the menace”.

“This raises questions about the government’s sincerity in tackling galamsey, which has devastating environmental and health consequences. If we’re serious about combating galamsey, we need to provide adequate funding. Only then can we genuinely address the galamsey menace and protect Ghana’s environment and public health.” Dr. Steve Manteaw noted.