Traditional leaders are at the heart of Ghana’s illegal mining crisis, Executive Director of the Good Governance Advocacy Group (GGAGG), Listowell Nana Kusi-Poku, has declared.
He argued that galamsey persists mainly because some chiefs prioritize personal gain over environmental protection and community welfare.
According to him, many traditional authorities exploit their influence by selling land to illegal miners in exchange for royalties, thereby sustaining the destructive practice.
“The only reason galamsey is still ongoing is because of our chiefs,” Poku said on TV XYZ’s Dwaboase programme with Piesie Okrah. “Every galamsey problem in communities is because of their chiefs. They sell lands to galamseyers looking for royalties and more.”
Poku described galamsey as one of Ghana’s most pressing environmental and social challenges, citing land degradation, water pollution, and disruption of livelihoods as its consequences.
He praised chiefs in the Volta Region for safeguarding their lands against illegal miners and questioned why similar vigilance is lacking in other areas.
He further called on the government’s anti-galamsey taskforce to redirect its efforts, insisting that holding chiefs accountable would be more effective than targeting ordinary citizens.
“Government and people are not responsible for the action; it is rather the chiefs,” he stressed.
Poku concluded that only chiefs, exercising their authority responsibly, can decisively halt illegal mining in their jurisdictions, underscoring their pivotal role in ending Ghana’s galamsey crisis.
Source: Myxyzonline.com
