A prominent civil society voice and anti-galamsey trustee has broken from the prevailing narrative on illegal mining, arguing that eradication is an unrealistic goal and that Ghana must instead deploy technology and formal regulation to manage a sector he says is too economically and politically entrenched to simply shut down.
Senyo Hosi, Convener of the OneGhana Movement and Trustee of the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey, made the remarks on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, distancing himself from the broad political consensus that frames the fight against galamsey purely as an enforcement challenge. “We have to get the reality that galamsey is not going anywhere. That is what I see. We have to find a way to correct the externalities around that,” he said.
His position is a significant departure from the stance of the coalition he helps lead, which has consistently called for a hard crackdown on illegal mining operations. Hosi did not abandon concerns about the environmental damage the practice causes, but argued that current policy approaches have repeatedly failed to produce durable results and that a new framework is needed.
He proposed deploying modern mining technologies to improve recovery rates, reduce environmental degradation, and increase state revenue capture, asking: “Can we use technology to correct the losses and move closer to large-scale recovery levels?”
Beyond technology, Hosi called for the full formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining operations, arguing that bringing operators into a regulated framework would allow the government to maintain oversight while preserving the livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of people dependent on the sector. “Let it be fully compliant, supported with technology, so government can guide the sector while people do it properly,” he said.
He also cautioned against overreliance on remediation technologies alone, stressing that the use of harmful chemicals including cyanide required tighter regulation rather than neglect. “Technology and policy must be brought together to correct this. Doing nothing is not going to help anybody,” he concluded.
Hosi’s remarks land on the same day that the Trades Union Congress called on President Mahama to intensify action against galamsey in forests and river bodies, and NPP communicator Dennis Miracles Aboagye accused the government of hypocrisy for applauding the President’s admission of NDC involvement in the practice without taking visible enforcement action.
