The Deputy Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, has expressed disappointment with President John Dramani Mahama’s position on addressing illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

Civil society groups, including A Rocha Ghana, have consistently called for bold and extraordinary interventions to halt the environmental devastation caused by galamsey.

However, at his media engagement on Wednesday, 10 September 2025, President Mahama said his government was not rushing to declare a state of emergency, arguing that existing legislation provided adequate powers to tackle the problem.

Speaking on Channel One TV the following day, Mr Bosu described the President’s remarks as discouraging.

“We had a bit of disappointment listening to the President when he was speaking on what has been done, or what is being done, as far as galamsey is concerned. We realised that there were a number of excuses also given by the President. The state of emergency has been relegated to the background, as he said it is going to be a last resort,” he said.

He further noted that the situation on the ground has not improved since Mr Mahama, while in opposition, joined civil society in calling for a state of emergency.

“Mining is still actively going on in the Eastern and Western regions. There are police personnel in these communities, and galamsey is ongoing. These are the circumstances we stood on to ask for a targeted state of emergency. It is unfortunate that now that the government has the power to do that, it is also giving us a lot of excuses,” Mr Bosu added.