A researcher at the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER), Professor Fred Dzanku, says that Ghana's mining issues cannot be resolved until the government rigorously enforces laws.

According to him, in certain instances, farmers choose to lease their lands for mining activities due to economic incentives, disregarding the existing laws prohibiting such actions.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM show on May 14, he stated, “So what does the law say? Does the law say that if you are a cocoa farmer and there are some minerals on your land, does the law give you the power to give out your land for mining? Even if the law does not allow that to happen, that is what is happening because there is very weak enforcement of the law and regulation.”.

He emphasised that as long as there's a societal imbalance where laws are ineffective due to influential individuals in positions of power, the issue of illegal mining will persist.

Professor Dzanku stressed that until the law applies equally to everyone, the media will continue to report on the same problem without resolution.

He stated that as part of the research of the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research, they implemented an experiment to explore how communities can play a role in safeguarding their lands and curbing illegal mining activities.

“I mean from the school level to the community. How can we empower the community themselves to stand up against galamsey, as well as go through the chiefs?

“Because it seems that at the level of society, when the society comes together and says we agree we are not going to allow this to happen and those communities stand up for themselves and say that we would not allow it, it would be one of the tools that we can use to empower people in the community to stand up against the menace," he stated.