President John Dramani Mahama has rejected claims that he promised to declare a state of emergency as part of efforts to tackle illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with members of the Ghanaian community in the Tri-State Area of the United States on Friday, September 25, Mahama said in opposition he had never said he would invoke a state of emergency to deal with the illegal mining menace.
According to the President, a state of emergency must only be considered as a last resort in addressing the galamsey crisis.
Mahama argued that declaring a state of emergency would not be practical at this stage because illegal mining activities are occurring across 10 regions of Ghana.
He argued that his government’s approach to tackling illegal mining takes into account the widespread nature of the problem rather than relying immediately on emergency measures.
President Mahama stated, “They said I said a state of emergency. I never ever said that. I never said I’d declare a state of emergency, but states of emergency are useful; you declare them as a last resort.
If you declare a state of emergency, you normally declare it in an isolated area, and you deal with the issue. You concentrate all your energy there and deal with the issue. And you finish it, and you lift the state of emergency. They are very temporary”.
“Now, what people don’t understand is that galamsey is in 10 regions of Ghana. You declare a state of emergency; where are you going to declare the state of emergency?”
He further argued, “ That 48-hour rule doesn’t apply when there’s a state of emergency. And so the point is, we still have that power, but we must exercise it as a last resort”.
“We have forest reserves that have had incursions into them. And so what we’ve done is we’ve concentrated on the forest reserves.
“Nine of those forest reserves were considered red zones because of the degree of incursion into the forest reserves and the fact that those in those forest reserves were armed, and the forest guards could not go into the reserve for fear of their lives. Today, in those nine forest reserves, the army has cleared all the people out of them,” he added.
Also, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, has cautioned against treating a state of emergency as a “magic wand” for tackling illegal mining (galamsey).
According to Paa Kwesi Schandorf, the declaration of a State of emergency on galamsey could impose restrictions on mining activities.
He argued that the declaration will not itself address the underlying causes of illegal mining, adding that it could halt mining activities and impose stringent restrictions.
Paa Kwesi Schandorf highlighted that the practical implications and potential benefits of declaring a state of emergency must first be clearly evaluated.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, Paa Kwesi Schandorf stated, “We should be careful not to consistently indicate or project a state of emergency as a certain magic wand, if once implemented, would automatically transform our fortunes”.
He further argued that some restrictions and security measures associated with the declaration of a State of emergency are already being implemented by NAIMOS.
“I’m not equating the state of emergency to NAIMOS intervention. I’m just saying that we should be careful not to consistently project that as that magic wand that will transform our fortunes,” he said.
Paa Kwesi Schandorf further stressed that President John Dramani Mahama has maintained that any decision to declare a state of emergency would be guided by security assessments.
The Lands Ministry spokesperson maintained that there is no immediate need for a state of emergency.
Watch the video below:
LIVE | Galamsey: "I never ever said I'll declare a state of emergency…" — President Mahama, as he answers questions on the fight against illegal mining in Ghana, during a town hall meeting with the Ghanaian community in the Tri-State Area, United States. pic.twitter.com/V68Tygse8v
— The1957News (@The1957News) September 26, 2026
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