The concerned residents, made up of miners, youth, and opinion leaders, say they are ready to reclaim their own land once mining activities are completed, and will not tolerate any external interference in the name of reclamation.

The community, known for its long-standing engagement in small-scale mining, held a press conference to voice their displeasure.

They called on the District Chief Executive for Amansie South, Benjamin Marfo, and the government to intervene before the situation escalates into conflict.

A community spokesperson, Dominic Sarkodie, emphasized that the land they are working on is not part of any government-acquired concession, forest reserve, or river body, but land owned by families and individuals within the Manso Nyakomase community.

He explained that small-scale mining remains the main source of livelihood for the people and that any attempt to reclaim the land without consulting them amounts to a direct attack on their economic survival.

“We are not working in any forest or on any river body, this is our own land — our inheritance. We are responsible miners, and we have every plan to reclaim our land when our work is done. No one has the right to move machines here without consulting us,” Mr. Sarkodie stated.

Source: Joseph Obeng

In the Ashanti Region alone, at least eleven people have been killed in abandoned pits with the latest incident being recorded at Kasotie in the Atwima Mponua District.

Mining pits opened by illegal miners are scattered in many mining communities across the country.

On Thursday, twelve people were retrieved from a mining pit at Kasotie after the pit collapsed on them, with seven declared dead.

Between April and September 2025, four people died in a desperate search for gold in abandoned pits.

In parts of the country, there are reports of children drowning in illegal mining pits

In protecting lives in mining areas, the Minerals Development Fund has signaled preparedness to go after persons who have abandoned open pits after mining.

The Minerals Development Fund, as part of its mandate, is expected to provide funds to redress the harmful effects of mining on affected communities and persons.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Fund, Dr.Hanna Bisiw-Kotei in an earlier interview indicated readiness to lead reclamation efforts.

“You can’t take the gold from the soil and leave the pollution to the government,” she said.

At Abompeh in the Ashanti Region, some farmers have lost their lands to small-scale mining, and most of the pits are left abandoned.

Aside from the risk to lives and properties, families who depended on the lands for survival go hungry.

But before the government’s enforcement team goes after miners who abandoned the pits, some of them are willingly reclaiming the lands.

Michael Osei of Osei Michael 79 Enterprise has led the reclamation of forty acres of land mined by the company.

“The government is against leaving pits open after mining, so as a responsible miner I had to adhere to it,” he said.

Bandim Anane until a few years ago farmed vegetables on the reclaimed land.

Today, he has returned to have a look at the reclaimed mine land in anticipation of a return.

“Some miners have started taking away their excavators after mining. You can’t confront them because you didn’t give them the land. I will plead with the government to ensure that all these people cover the pits,” he said.

Source: Nana Yaw Gyimah

The land was allocated by the Forestry Commission as part of the government’s reclamation efforts.

In an interview with Adom News, the Minister revealed that, the 30 people a few months ago were caught mining in water bodies and during interrogation, they pledged to go into commercial farming if they get the needed support.

Mr. Okyere said he was touched by their commitment, prompting the intervention and support.

He called for a collective effort to make the fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey a success.

The Range Supervisor at the Forestry Commission, Emmanuel Peprah announced that the farmers will own 40 trees out of every 100 planted.

Meanwhile, some of the beneficiaries acknowledged the devastation they have caused to the environment and water bodies.

They appealed to government to make farming attractive to the youth to discourage people from engaging in galamsey.

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Professor Nana Browne Klutse, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), described the situation as an emergency and appealed to development partners for support.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, she hinted that a World Bank-funded project had helped reclaim some lands, but it was at a pilot stage, and the EPA would need funding to upscale.

“We have been approached by companies to help the country reclaim and restore, but the condition is that Ghana must pay for the technology after the pilot stage,” Prof. Klutse said.

She noted that the ideal situation would be to ensure that all mining companies, after securing permits, pay bonds that would be used to reclaim the lands.

“In our current dispensation, mining has occurred on vast lands by unidentified individuals who have absconded. At the moment, we have vast lands that have been degraded. We need to reclaim them, but we do not have the money to do that,” she said.

In line with the new Environmental Protection Act 2025 (Act 1124), which grants the agency greater authority, Prof. Klutse said steps were being taken to increase its presence in local areas to ensure effective monitoring and enforcement of environmental laws.

“We realised that currently, the Authority’s eyes are not everywhere, but soon we will establish offices at the district level to educate the public, guide people on their undertakings, and enforce laws where necessary to ensure compliance,” she stated.

Prof. Klutse assured the public that they would soon see water bodies being restored.

Illegal gold mining has been wreaking havoc in southern Ghana for years, particularly in resource-rich regions such as the Upper Offin sub-basin.

According to a study by the International Water Management Institute, these areas—once celebrated for their dense forests and flourishing cocoa plantations—now face severe land degradation, declining agricultural yields, and polluted water bodies.

In 2024, the Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services, through the SERVIR West Africa programme, revealed that more than 670 square kilometres of land—an area comparable to the size of Singapore—had been destroyed by illegal mining.

High water turbidity, which measures the amount of suspended solids in water from galamsey, harms water quality, ecosystems, and human health.

In March last year, Ghana Water Limited raised concerns over challenges in treating water for the people of Sekondi-Takoradi due to high turbidity levels.

The Daboase Water Treatment Plant, which initially had to handle only 100 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) at the time of its construction, is now grappling with 7,000 NTU.

This has resulted in frequent machinery breakdowns and increased costs for water treatment chemicals.

Turbidity levels from galamsey have been recorded as high as 14,000 NTU, far exceeding the 2,000 NTU limit.

Toxic chemicals from illegal mining also contaminate water bodies, forcing people to seek alternative water sources that are either expensive or unsafe.

High turbidity also causes algae blooms, which disrupt food chains and ecosystems.

Research has also linked water pollution from galamsey to chronic diseases such as kidney failure, birth defects, and cancer.

Major rivers, including the Pra, Ankobra, Birim, Offin, Densu, and Oti, have all been polluted by illegal mining activities.

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