President John Mahama has expressed deep concern over the growing disorder in the fight against illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

He revealed that his office has had to urgently intervene to restore order among key stakeholders.

Speaking during a meeting with the Council of State at the Presidency on Monday, July 7, the President described the illegal mining situation as “complex” and warned that the current lack of coordination among enforcement actors was undermining the government’s efforts.

“Just this morning, I had to summon all the stakeholders in the anti-galamsey fight to my office,” he disclosed.

“Everybody is running helter-skelter and doing whatever they want. It has led to the rise of illegal task forces that are taking advantage of the situation.”

President Mahama explained that the emergency meeting was convened to “streamline their activities” and put an end to the chaos that has allowed some to exploit the system under the guise of enforcement.

“We held a very good meeting and we are streamlining things,” he said.

Galamsey remains one of Ghana’s most pressing environmental and governance challenges, contributing to deforestation, river pollution, and community displacement.

President Mahama's comments come amid mounting public pressure for decisive leadership in addressing the menace.

The President also used the occasion to reflect on his administration’s six-month milestone since taking office in January 2025, noting that the pace of governance had been intense.

“It’s exactly six months since we were sworn into office. It looks like we’ve been in office for almost two years already because of how quickly things have been moving,” he said.

He announced that the Minister of Finance would soon present the mid-year budget review to Parliament, which would provide a clearer picture of the government's economic performance and development priorities over the period.

President Mahama assured the Council of State that a full statutory meeting would be held after the mid-year budget presentation to assess the administration’s progress and change its focus if needed.