Former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has criticised the current government's handling of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).

According to him, the absence of a serious enforcement regime is fuelling impunity and environmental destruction.

Mr Jinapor expressed concern over what he described as an alarming rise in blatant and unchecked mining activities, some allegedly taking place openly by roadsides.

“There is no serious enforcement regime today, and small-scale mining is such that once you get to a point where there is the slightest level of impunity, you have a problem,” he said.

“We are told that mining is taking place by the roadside, some are happening blatantly and yet there is no form of enforcement regime.”

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, the former minister referenced controversial steps taken during the Akufo-Addo administration, including the burning of excavators as part of efforts to clamp down on illegal mining operations.

The decision at the time, he noted, drew significant public and political backlash.

“You will recall that the Akufo-Addo administration actually went as far as decommissioning excavators, in other words, burning them. It became a big controversial issue here in Ghana,” he said.

“I was called to Parliament by Minister Okudzeto Ablakwa, who was then Ranking Member for Foreign Affairs, to give justifications for the burning of excavators.”

Mr Jinapor believes that the absence of a firm and visible enforcement mechanism is emboldening illegal miners and undermining any progress made in past years.

“Until the government reintroduces some form of enforcement regime, I think this situation is just going to get worse,” he warned.