Edward Seyram Tuttor
A coalition of youth activists has declared the government’s anti-illegal mining strategy ineffective and is calling on President John Dramani Mahama to invoke emergency powers to confront what they describe as an escalating environmental disaster.
The Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana (DYMOG), alongside Concerned Citizens of Ghana, marched through the streets of Accra under the banner #StopGalamsey, openly criticising the performance of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).
The demonstrators, clad in red and black and waving Ghana flags, carried placards reading “We Can’t Drink Gold” and “No Justice, No Peace for Polluters.”
At the centre of their protest was a blunt accusation that NAIMOS has failed to deliver on its mandate.
“As we speak, NAIMOS has failed,” declared DYMOG Convener, Edward Seyram Tuttor after presenting a petition to the Ministry of the Interior.
He said assurances previously given to civil society groups that financiers and operators behind illegal mining would be targeted had not materialised on the ground.
The group cited the recent disturbances at Ahafo Hwediem in the Asutifi South Constituency, where illegal miners and some residents clashed with security personnel during an anti-galamsey operation.
According to the activists, the confrontation exposed operational weaknesses and signalled that enforcement measures have failed to deter entrenched networks.
Arguing that the destruction of rivers, farmlands and forest reserves now threatens national survival, DYMOG invoked Article 31 of the 1992 Constitution, which empowers the President to declare a state of emergency where public safety or essential life-support systems are at risk.
“When the very resources that sustain life – water, food, clean air – are under attack, the President must act,” Mr. Tuttor insisted, warning that protests would intensify nationwide if decisive measures are not taken.
The group also criticised the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to deploy nano-ionic copper technology to treat polluted water bodies, dismissing it as inadequate to address contamination by heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic.
Further fuelling their anger were reports that Chanfang machines, commonly used in alluvial mining, were recently sighted along the Ankobra, Bia and Black Volta rivers, a sign, they argued, that illegal mining remains deeply entrenched.
Beyond environmental degradation, the activists warned of looming public health and food security crises, citing risks ranging from kidney and liver complications to threats to unborn children.
The group maintained that their demand for emergency powers is driven by patriotism, not politics, describing their action as non-partisan.
By Ernest Kofi Adu