This Saturday on Newsfile, Ghana’s rivers are choking, power lines are under attack, and taps are running dry, while on the streets, young voices cry out against what they call abuse of power. Two national crises, one question: Is Ghana’s leadership truly in control?

The galamsey menace has transformed into a national emergency. A new study reveals poisoned crops and fish in mining communities, threatening food security and public health.

GRIDCo warns its transmission towers are being occupied by illegal miners, some even firing shots at engineers trying to keep the lights on.

Water security is collapsing. Turbidity levels in rivers feeding treatment plants have surged so high that facilities at Sekyere Hemang and Daboase are shutting down, leaving communities like Cape Coast and Elmina grappling with prolonged shortages. For many families, the only available water is muddy, unsafe, and laced with toxins.

The government insists it is responding. The Lands Ministry says it will designate rivers and reserves as national security zones, deploy permanent forces, and points to over 1,400 illegal miners arrested this year, nearly double what the Akufo-Addo government achieved in three years. But with rivers still unfit for treatment and taps still dry, the question remains: is this a decisive war on galamsey, or more of the same rhetoric?

Meanwhile, Ghana’s political arena is heating up. Under the banner “YɛnSuroAhunahuna”, New Patriotic Party youth have taken to the streets, protesting what they describe as state-sponsored harassment and abuse of power.

Their grievances include the detention of party members and the selective use of state institutions against opponents. Petitions have been filed, demands have been issued, and the protest movement is swelling, testing not just the ruling party’s unity, but the resilience of Ghana’s democracy itself.

Join Samson Lardy Anyenini this Saturday at 9 a.m. on JoyNews, JoyFm 99.7, and MyJoyOnline, as we unpack whether the government is winning the fight against galamsey, and whether the growing unrest in the NPP signals a deeper crisis in governance.

Newsfile airs live on the JoyNews channel on digital satellite channels 421 on DSTV and 144 on GoTV, and streams on JoyNews’ Facebook or YouTube channels on Saturdays from 9 am to noon.

Viewers can also follow the discussion by tuning in to Joy 99.7 FM or Luv 99.5 FM on the radio or stream the discussion live on either Google or Apple Podcasts.

Newsfile is your most authoritative news analysis programme.