Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, has defended the government’s fight against illegal mining, known as galamsey, saying recent water quality data shows improvements in some areas despite worsening conditions in others.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, concerns were raised about the fact that turbidity levels in many rivers have increased from 14,000 NTU in August 2024 to 32,000 NTU currently, forcing water treatment plants to shut down. The Kwanyako water treatment plant was an example.

In response, Mr Gyamfi described the claim as a “half-truth,” noting that while the figures cited were correct, they did not present the full picture.

“That is not wholly true. The data you’ve put out is correct. But that is not all there is in terms of data on turbidity levels,” he explained. “In many cases it has worsened, you’re right. But in many cases too we’ve seen improvements.”

He shared figures from the Water Resources Commission to back his point.

“River Densu at Mangoase in July last year had a turbidity level of 256, today it is 44. That’s an improvement. River Nsawam was 59 in July 2024; in July 2025, it is 19.1. River Ankobra at Dominase has dropped from 3,720 NTU last year to 2,920 now.

"River Tano at Elubo was 1,010NTU last July; today it is 834. Tano at Sefwi dropped from NTU level of 12.3 to 9.57. River Offin at Barekese fell from 41.9 to 18.2. River Bia at Dadieso saw a major reduction from 1,190 to 372. And Bamboi Black Volta moved from 52 to 4.79,” Mr Gyamfi listed.

According to him, these examples prove that progress is being made even if the overall challenge remains discouraging. “In many cases, it’s worsened. In other places, too, it has improved. The answer is simple: you cannot fix an age-long problem in eight months,” he said.

Mr Gyamfi also criticised the previous administration, claiming it failed to show seriousness in dealing with illegal mining.

“The country that was handed over to us on 7th January 2025 was a country that was not fighting galamsey at all. As a matter of fact, fighters of galamsey were being fought. Fighters of galamsey were being arrested, prosecuted and jailed,” he said.

He insisted that in 2024 no real anti-galamsey operations were carried out. “The government of the day said it had lost in mining areas in 2020 because of its fight against galamsey, which was not true. They lost the 2024 elections because of their fraudulent fight against galamsey,” he added.

Mr Gyamfi said the current government has shown clear commitment and deserves support.

“Our social contract with the people of Ghana is a four-year contract. Give us the opportunity to fix the problem within the four years because we have shown enough commitment,” he said.

He pointed to policy changes as evidence of this commitment.

“Under the old regime, it was lawful for people to be given licences to mine in forest reserves. Today, that policy has been cancelled. In eight months, not a single licence has been given to anybody to mine in forest reserves.

"That is something you fought for, and I think you should be proud that at least on that score we have achieved something,” he added.