Mineral and Natural Resources economist, Dr Theo Acheampong, has urged the government to implement an “immediate temporary ban on issuing new mining licenses” as a step toward addressing the illegal mining crisis, locally known as galamsey.

He clarified that such a ban is not equivalent to declaring a state of emergency, which, according to him, is unlikely for political reasons.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 13, Dr Acheampong criticised the nation’s collective failure to effectively tackle illegal mining.

He revealed that about 40% of Ghana’s total gold output comes from small-scale mining, noting that 70% of small-scale mining operations are unlicensed, and even among the licensed operators, there is little assurance of proper mining practices.

He disclosed that illegal gold exports are draining the country’s economy by approximately $2 billion annually.

He noted that the scale of the illegal mining industry is nearly equivalent to the revenue generated by the cocoa or oil sectors in the country.

“What that fundamentally means is that you can’t just send 100 soldiers into the bush - more or less fight it because it’s not going to work.

“..They are armed, there are people who fund it and so the response size solution to it is got to be radically different,” he said.

Dr Acheampong described galamsey as one of the major policy failures of the current administration and recalled how President Akufo-Addo, upon assuming office in 2016, promised to put his presidency on the line to fight illegal mining.

He added that illegal mining is not just an economic challenge but a national security issue.