Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a social activist and private legal practitioner, has declared that Ghana has lost the fight against illegal mining commonly known as galamsey.
According to Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Ghanaians should not fall for any propaganda by the Mahama government that claims they are winning the fight against galamsey.
In a social media post on X, Oliver Barker-Vormawor wrote, “We have lost the fight against Galamsey. Don’t believe any propaganda. Travel and see. Shalom”.
Some Ghanaians reacting to his post stated, “How can it stop when the government itself largely depends on it to manage the economy?
We are producing more gold than ever to generate foreign exchange, and it’s all from “small scale mining”.
Not to talk about the other host of reasons why galamsey is unlikely to stop soon”.
One X user added, “In a 2024 report, WaterAid warned that Ghana might have to import water by 2030 under a “business-as-usual” scenario as drinking water sources shrink due to pollution, especially from galamsey.
The state water utility has repeatedly cautioned that without curbing illegal mining and pollution, Ghana risks becoming an importer of water by 2030.
Researchers from the University of Cape Coast have stated that Ghana may have to import water by 2030 because of the inability to treat highly turbid water.
The Water Research Institute has warned that if current pollution trends continue, there could be no treatable surface or groundwater by 2030, implying the need to import water.
The core driver is severe pollution of major rivers, such as the Pra, Ankobra, and others, from galamsey, which has:
Raised turbidity levels far beyond treatment thresholds
Reduced GWCL’s capacity to supply clean water in some areas by up to 75%
Increased treatment costs and made some sources effectively untreatable with current infrastructure
Why is the government not actively implementing measures to address galamsey?”
Meanwhile, Mahama has dismissed claims that he promised Ghanaians to declare a state of emergency to tackle illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Speaking during a town hall meeting with the Ghanaian community in the Tri-State Area of the United States of America with Ghanaians in New York on Friday, September 25, President Mahama stressed that he never announced plans to invoke a state of emergency.
According to John Mahama, he said the use of a state of emergency should be a measure to be used only as a last resort.
Mahama claimed that the state of emergency is not useful at the moment because galamsey takes place across 10 regions of the country.
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.
See the post below:
We have lost the fight against Galamsey.
— Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor (@barkervogues) October 1, 2026
Don’t believe any propaganda. Travel and see. Shalom.
@ghnow_ Eye witness account on the fire incident at North Industrial Area #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ A fire outbreak has been reported at the North Industrial Area in Accra, with ASHFOAM and DURAPLAST reportedly affected. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – ADAAMAINA
