The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has warned that Ghana is fast approaching a point where a state of emergency may become unavoidable in order to deal with the escalating destruction caused by illegal mining, aka galamsey.

The caution follows President John Mahama’s remarks at his first presidential media encounter of his second term, where he ruled out an immediate declaration of emergency, insisting that existing legislation provides sufficient powers to combat the menace.

Addressing journalists on Thursday, 11 September, IEA Board Chair, Dr Charles Mensa, said the scale and pace of environmental devastation suggested that the government might soon be forced to invoke emergency powers.

“In terms of declaring an emergency, I think we are edging towards that. Given the intensity at which galamsey is taking place, we are moving towards a stage where a state of emergency may have to be declared.”

“As to when, we cannot tell because we do not have the same level of security information as the President. We will leave that to him. But the urgency is clear; we can all see it coming,” he said.