Anti-Galamsey drive gained fresh momentum under NDC – Gbande

The leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) says Ghana’s fight against illegal mining has entered a more decisive phase, marked by stronger coordination, clearer enforcement priorities, and renewed political will since the party assumed office.

According to the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Mustapha Gbande, the government has responded to public frustration over environmental destruction by adopting a more unified and action-driven approach to the galamsey menace. He said illegal mining activities that endanger water bodies, forest reserves, and public health are now being tackled with greater urgency.

Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Tuesday, December 30, Mr Gbande argued that the current administration has moved beyond fragmented interventions by aligning key state actors behind a common objective. He noted that the President, sector ministers, and regulatory agencies are now working in concert to confront illegal mining operations across the country.

“For us as a party and I believe a government ever since we came into power, there has been a considerable amount of renewed energy and commitment and first of all streamlining mining relaed activities in this country relative to pollution and what in one accord what the people of Ghana has demonstrated discomfort towards,” he said.

Mr Gbande explained that this collective resolve has been particularly evident in efforts to protect water bodies and forest reserves, which have suffered extensive damage from unregulated mining. He added that attention is also being directed at bringing artisanal and alluvial mining activities under tighter regulatory control to ensure compliance with environmental and legal standards.

“So if you check the president, the ministers, everybody has come together to fight mining particularly in the water bodies and then the forest reserves and also streamlining the artisanal and alluvial mining activities,” he stated.

On the question of foreign nationals involved in illegal mining, the NDC official said the government has maintained a strict enforcement posture, especially through deportation measures. He disclosed that at the beginning of 2025, several foreign nationals arrested for engaging in galamsey were deported following coordinated operations by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ghana Immigration Service, and other security agencies.

“When it comes to the issues of deportation and all of that, I know that in the beginning of 2025 a lot of foreign nationals who have been engaged in or caught up in these things have been deported facilitated by the Minister for the Interior, the immigration and all other agencies involved,” Mr Gbande said.

He dismissed suggestions of selective enforcement, stressing that authorities have acted consistently in all such cases.

“I do not think that there has been an occasion where such people were caught and they were not deported,” he added.

Mr Gbande concluded that the government remains determined to safeguard Ghana’s natural resources, noting that the renewed momentum in the anti-galamsey drive reflects a broader commitment to environmental protection, public health, and sustainable development.