Award-winning environmental journalist Erastus Asare Donkor and Ama Mawusi Mawuenyefia, Director of Communications at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, clashed on air during a heated discussion on illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Erastus on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem criticised what he described as delays in enforcement, questioning why the police, who are responsible for upholding the law, are not acting swiftly on the ground.
“It’s like telling us NAIMOS has worked on water bodies, and I accept that, but much of the work is being reversed. There are forest reserves retrieved from illegal miners, and now people are back doing galamsey,” he said.
He added that many excavators seized from illegal miners are reportedly being returned.
Ama Mawusi interjected, denying the claims. “That is not true. The excavators seized are still in custody and have not been given out,” she said.
Erastus challenged her, saying, “You are in Accra making allegations without going to the field. You don’t know what the IGP men are doing in the forests, and it’s unfair to accuse them of extortion.”
Mawusi responded, “The National Alternative Illegal Mining Operations Strategy (NAIMOS) includes the Ghana Police Service, but not all enforcement can be done by police or soldiers alone. That’s why we coordinate under one umbrella, to ensure a more effective approach. There were logistical challenges causing some delays, but these have been resolved, and action will resume in the coming days.”
She added that the Ministry appreciates Erastus’s work and that her statements reflect what she knows from monitoring the situation.
“Since the beginning of the year, we have done everything we could regarding forest reserves. Yes, some illegal mining persists, but it does not mean that the Blue Water Guard is not working—results are showing progress. It is unfair to compare eight months of the current administration to eight years of the previous government and claim nothing is being done,” Mawusi said.
The exchange highlights rising public concern over the slow pace of government action against galamsey, with local communities continuing to suffer the consequences of environmental destruction.
Source: Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy
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