Paul Adom-Otchere, the host of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana, has said President John Dramani Mahama spoke the truth on galamsey.
According to Adom-Otchere, the fight against illegal mining cannot be just about law enforcement alone.
He argued that President Mahama was frank about the economic and political difficulties surrounding the issue.
He detailed that if a state of emergency is declared on mining, Ghana’s revenue gained from mining will drop.
Speaking on a panel discussion on JoyNews on Thursday, September 11, 2025, Adom-Otchere stated, “The President spoke the truth on galamsey. If you declare a state of emergency on all mining, you are likely to see a drop in mining revenue.
The finance minister will not be happy, and that’s exactly the point Asiedu Nketiah made. Such a move would badly affect government finances”, he explained.
He added, “Maybe during the campaign, not as much truth was said. Everything President Mahama said this time was true. But perhaps campaigners knew a state of emergency would affect the economy and still pushed it because it was campaign time”.
However, Manasseh Azure Awuni, an investigative journalist, has expressed his dissatisfaction with President John Dramani Mahama’s fight against illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
The investigative journalist commented on Mahama’s media encounter yesterday, September 10, 2025, in a social media post, writing, “President Mahama has been brilliant tonight. From his first term and now, President Mahama has always demonstrated a strong grasp on all the sectors. He’s not the kind that can be easily fooled by a minister or an appointee”.
Manasseh however, added, “On galamsey, however, he has been very disappointing. The decay did not start in the last 8 years of Akufo-Addo, as the president said. I was a journalist when President Mahama was president. In his first term, I did not see the seriousness in fighting the menace. And his body language doesn’t seem to show that it will be any different.
The land that is destroyed because of galamsey can produce food crops, so we should stop creating the impression that the only alternative to illegal mining is “deviant acts,” as the president said”.
He further quizzed President Mahama on why he disbanded the IGP’s task force, “Why disband the IGP’s task force instead of just asking them to verify permits when they visit a site? Which sites did the task force invade that turned out to be a legitimate mining concession?
Mr. President, so far, you have done well. Ghanaians are beginning to hope again in many sectors, but in the fight against galamsey, I feel more hopeless after listening to you tonight”.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has said that the implementation of a state of emergency might sound nice, but it should be the last resort.
According to John Mahama, his administration is not in a rush to declare a state of emergency in the fight against illegal mining.
He noted growing public pressure to take drastic measures on galamsey but warned against resorting to a state of emergency prematurely.
Speaking at his media encounter in Accra on Wednesday, September 10, John Mahama explained, “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”.
“We have the opportunity to arrest anybody, to confiscate any such thing. The laws for forest protection and all that give us enough powers to be able to act”, he added.
John Mahama highlighted that a state of emergency should be considered only as a last resort.
“Implementing a state of emergency might sound nice, but it should be the last resort. So for now, let’s exercise all the powers we have — and if it becomes necessary for a state of emergency, then we look at it,” he added.