‘Leave galamsey fight to civil groups, not hypocritical politicians’ – Gyampo

The Chief Executive of the Ghana Shippers Authority, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has delivered a scathing assessment of Ghana’s ongoing battle against illegal mining, warning that the fight risks being undermined by political hypocrisy and entrenched vested interests.

In a lengthy Facebook post on Wednesday (17th September), Prof. Gyampo expressed frustration at what he called the “sudden attempt” by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to appear committed to the anti-galamsey campaign.

According to him, the same party presided over an unprecedented surge in mining licences during its eight years in power, effectively fuelling the very crisis now ravaging the country’s forests and rivers.

“They granted over 2,000 mining licences—the highest in Ghana’s history,” he wrote. “After doing all these, what credibility do they have on earth to even whisper in this fight? With all due respect, they sound smarter when they are quiet.”

The former UTAG executive argued that genuine advocacy should be left to civil society groups, such as the Coalition Against Galamsey and the OneGhana Movement, warning that partisan actors who once dismissed the health implications of galamsey cannot now be trusted to lead the fight.

He acknowledged steps by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), including police deployment to reclaim forest reserves and the repeal of what he called “an evil law” that permitted mining in forests.

But even these, he cautioned, may not be enough. He reiterated his long-held belief that only a declaration of a state of emergency could halt the escalating destruction.

“I still stand by my demand for a state of emergency, as I believe that we must shut the tap causing flooding before we start mopping the floor,” he stated, insisting that without drastic measures Ghana risks losing its natural heritage.

The post paints a bleak picture of a fight caught in political crossfire, with Gyampo accusing sections of the political class of bribing union leaders, silencing whistle-blowers such as former minister Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, and sponsoring groups to weaken calls for accountability. He suggested these actions have left the campaign against galamsey hollow, vulnerable to manipulation, and unlikely to succeed if left in partisan hands.

“Given that the destruction of our very source of livelihood is still ongoing, let us make demands for more radical steps,” he warned, adding that the battle must not be dictated by “hypocritical self-serving partisan agents.”