Ellen Ama Daaku, an NPP communicator and aide to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said illegal miners (galamseyers) who earn 300 cedis a day will not stop if the minimum wage is 21 cedis a day.
According to Ellen Ama Daaku, a rise in the minimum wage would empower galamsey operators to abandon illegal mining and secure better employment.
She explained that the fight against galamsey is being handled in isolation, suggesting that it should be considered within the current economic conditions and their impact on people.
Speaking on Angel Morning Show (AMS) on Monday, November 10, 2025, stated, “How do you expect people involved in galamsey to stop if they’re earning 300 cedis a day while the minimum wage is 21 cedis a day? Increase the wage, if you want them to stop”.
“We should weave the galamsey fight into the current situation and its impacts on people,” she said.
Her comments come after the government has approved a 9 per cent salary increase for all public sector workers under the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) for the 2026 fiscal year.
The 9 per cent upward adjustment in the national daily minimum wage, moving it from GH₵19.97 to GH₵21.77, is effective January 1 to December 31, 2026.
Dr Ato Forson, the Finance Minister, commended Organised Labour for their cooperation and patriotism.
He stated, “The country has gone through difficult times with high inflation and interest rates, but today both indicators have declined. The government is working to further reduce inflation from the current 8 per cent to ease the burden on Ghanaians”.
Meanwhile, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, has said illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is becoming a mafia situation.
According to the Asantehene, if care is not taken, the galamsey menace will engulf the whole country.
He added that the issues surrounding galamsey must be taken seriously, stressing that it should not be trivialised nor politicised.
Speaking at the 29th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards on November 8, 2025, the Asantehene stated, “Galamsey, for example, is an issue that is so dear to everybody’s heart. We have to be very careful because it’s destroying this country. It’s more and more like a mafia situation where if you are not very careful, it’s going to engulf all of us.”
“And, therefore, we have to take this issue very, very seriously. We joke about it or we think it’s not serious, but it is, and I was asking how many people would vote for a party or a government, while we don’t want to take a firm decision on this. I’ve asked myself, because it’s politics, it’s because of votes, nothing else”.
“I can’t see why we cannot take up this matter seriously unless we are all complicit. Other than that, it’s also a serious matter. So, I was listening to the president, and I feel that more must be done to stop this,” he added.
Also, President John Dramani Mahama has vowed that as the President of Ghana, he will never give up in the fight against galamsey.
According to John Mahama, his government is leading a programme to restore mined and degraded lands and also create employment for youth.