Dr Sekou Nkrumah, son of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, has urged the government to declare a state of emergency on illegal mining (galamsey).

He called for urgent and decisive action to halt its devastating impact on the environment.

Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews, Dr Nkrumah expressed frustration at the government’s failure to tackle the problem head-on.

“Simple things like galamsey that are destroying the environment, the water bodies, the forest reserve,” he said.

“The government doesn’t have the political will to say enough is enough to stop it."

Dr Nkrumah believes the solution is straightforward – but requires bold leadership.

“The solution is simple, but it takes political will, so declare a state of emergency in those areas. Send the army there, and it will be stopped,” he insisted on Monday, September 22.

He further stressed that once the illegal activities are forcefully brought to a halt, longer-term solutions such as job creation and youth engagement can be pursued to address the root causes of the problem.

“There is one way of stopping it right now, and then afterwards we can deal with the issues of these young people who don’t have jobs."