The Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has urged President John Dramani Mahama to declare a state of emergency in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
He argued that all existing measures have failed and that Ghana risks irreversible environmental destruction if drastic action is not taken immediately.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, September 13, 2025, Mr. Ahiagbah stressed that the gravity of the situation requires extraordinary measures.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency would give the President the power to shut down illegal mining completely, protect forests and rivers, and prevent further environmental degradation.
“This thing, State of Emergency that people are telling us and making it look scary, it is not. It is what we need now or nothing will work. Akufo-Addo tried, close to a state of emergency, and it didn’t work. What you need now is a complete shutdown,” he said
He explained that with a state of emergency, all forest reserves and water bodies could be placed strictly off-limits, and anyone found operating there would face swift action. He emphasized that regular processes were no longer effective and only extraordinary measures could save the situation.
“Anybody seen on that, regular process will not work, that is part of the declaration. You suspend the constitution in terms of application in that order and ensure that certain seriousness is brought to the fight so that we can curtail or deal with that menace because it is that dangerous and everything else has been tried,” he explained
Mr. Ahiagbah insisted that such a move is “not negotiable,” stressing that Ghana risks losing its water resources, farmlands, and forests if leadership delays any further.
He further challenged President Mahama directly, questioning why he has not acted on his earlier promise to “declare war on galamsey.”
“On galamsey, the President says there are so many laws that have not been exhausted, until those laws are exhausted then we declare state of emergency. I want to know some of the laws that are yet to be exercised, that the President is constrained from exercising now? Why hasn’t he exercised them now? What is holding the President? What is holding President John Dramani Mahama who says he will declare war on galamsey? Now he is on the seat. He got the proverbial steer, he can steer it wherever he wants to go. Why is he not using the power? Who is preventing him?” Ahiagbah asked during an interview on Metro TV.
His comments come after President Mahama, at a media encounter on Wednesday, September 10, stated that his government was not in a hurry to declare a state of emergency in the galamsey fight. The President explained that existing laws provided enough authority to deal with illegal mining and that his administration had not yet exhausted those powers.
“I’ve been reluctant to implement a state of emergency in the galamsey fight because we’ve not exhausted the powers we even have without a state of emergency,” President Mahama said.
The President admitted that public pressure is mounting for stronger action but insisted that a state of emergency should be considered only as a last resort.
Illegal mining, widely known as galamsey, has become one of Ghana’s most pressing challenges. It continues to destroy water bodies, pollute rivers, and threaten agricultural livelihoods in mining communities. Despite years of government interventions, including task forces, bans, and military operations, the menace persists.
Mr. Ahiagbah’s call highlights a growing national debate over whether a state of emergency is the only viable option left to save Ghana’s environment. While the President believes existing laws should be fully enforced first, critics like Ahiagbah argue that time is running out and that the situation requires nothing less than drastic action.
