The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) has criticized the Mahama administration for allocating US$279 million to the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) for gold purchases, while failing to dedicate any funds toward reclaiming degraded lands and polluted rivers.
The group described this decision as a “deliberate policy choice” that prioritizes revenue generation over environmental restoration, putting Ghana’s fragile ecosystems at greater risk.
In a statement, the CDM emphasized that the absence of funding for environmental recovery exposes the administration’s true intentions.
“Promises without funding are lies. And the budget has revealed the truth,” the statement read.
Accusing the government of moral bankruptcy, the CDM argued that a state-funded gold agency cannot operate “in a moral vacuum” while illegal mining ravages the environment unchecked.
“This is a cruel irony,” the group said. “A body set up to benefit from mining cannot ignore the environmental carnage it feeds on. The failure to pair gold procurement with reclamation funding is unjust and unacceptable.”
The CDM further stated that the Mahama administration has lost the moral right to speak on environmental protection.
Among its demands, the group called for public disclosure of all illegal mining concessions, a nationwide moratorium on mining in water bodies, and a parliamentary inquiry into the government’s handling of the galamsey crisis.
“If President Mahama cannot take action to save our rivers, then he is no different from those destroying them,” the statement concluded.