Private legal practitioner Kwame Boafo Akuffo has called for more aggressive and decisive action in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

He insists that Ghana can no longer rely on what he described as a slow and ineffective approach.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, April 25, he stressed that illegal mining is endangering lives and called for stronger state intervention to protect citizens and natural resources.

“Those who are in galamsey are taking our collective lives, and the state has the responsibility with the citizens to protect and fight any associations or entities that are taking our right to life. This issue of deploying people from Accra to go and fight galamsey in other places is rather too slow for me,” he said.

He further urged a shift from what he termed a “Presbyterian approach” to enforcement, arguing that the current strategy lacks urgency and must be replaced with more drastic and immediate measures to address the crisis effectively.

Kwame Akuffo’s comments come amid growing concern from religious and community leaders about the devastating impact of galamsey.

The Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, recently warned that illegal mining is disrupting both livelihoods and religious practices, including water baptism, due to the pollution of rivers in affected areas.