The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) has called for urgent and extraordinary measures to tackle illegal mining, warning that Ghana’s rivers, forests, and farmlands face irreversible destruction if decisive action is not taken.

In a strongly worded statement, the group declared that a state of emergency is “long overdue” given the scale of environmental devastation.

According to the CDM, successive governments have failed to enforce environmental laws, with political patronage and elite complicity shielding offenders.

“Illegal mining continues to poison Ghana’s vital water bodies; the Pra, Ankobra, and Offin rivers; and scar fertile lands beyond repair,” the statement said.

The group warned that rural livelihoods are collapsing as water pollution and degraded soil cripple farming and fishing.

The CDM also took issue with President John Dramani Mahama’s recent comments on the matter.

While in opposition, the President insisted that illegal mining was a “national emergency” that demanded a state of emergency.

Now in government, however, he has said such a declaration is unnecessary at this stage.

“I have been reluctant to implement a state of emergency in the galamsey fight because we have not exhausted the powers available to us without such a declaration,” he noted.

The movement questioned the President’s change of tone, describing it as a matter of moral consistency and ethical leadership.

“For someone who once decried inaction and demanded sweeping measures, this change of tone and deferment raises serious questions of political convenience,” the group stated.

The CDM urged Parliament, the Judiciary, and Civil Society to hold the Executive accountable, stressing that “the lives of Ghanaians matter” and that the environment is the foundation of national prosperity.

“If rivers die, farms collapse, and communities are displaced by violence, no amount of rhetoric or political manoeuvring can salvage the future of this country,” it concluded.