GWCL boss rejects calls for state of emergency in galamsey fight

The Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Adam Mutawakilu, has dismissed growing calls for the declaration of a state of emergency to address illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

He argued that such a move would offer only short-term relief rather than a lasting solution.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Monday, October 20, Mr. Mutawakilu said the focus should instead be on implementing sustainable and pragmatic measures to stop the destruction of the environment and the pollution of Ghana’s water bodies.

“First and foremost, I don’t think that a state of emergency will stop illegal mining. If you declare one area a state of emergency, you will have to move to another. At the end of the day, the whole country will be under a state of emergency,” he stated.

He emphasized that a temporary military or emergency operation would not resolve the deep-rooted economic and social factors that drive people into illegal mining.

“What measures can we put in place for it to be sustained? Is the state of emergency going to be there forever? Won’t the people go back when lifted? We can’t have a state of emergency forever. There must be pragmatic measures to sustain it,” he added.

Mr. Mutawakilu’s remarks follow renewed calls from civil society organisations urging government to declare a state of emergency to save the country’s rivers and forests from further degradation.

President John Dramani Mahama, speaking weeks ago at a stakeholder engagement on illegal mining in Accra, had also indicated that the National Security Council does not currently see the need to declare such an emergency.

The President explained that while he has the constitutional authority to declare a state of emergency, such a decision must be based on advice from the National Security Council, which believes the fight against galamsey can still be won within existing legal and security frameworks.

Mr. Mutawakilu’s position aligns with that of the government on the need to exhaust all options before resorting to the declaration of a national emergency.