Accra: Economic policy analyst and convener of the OneGhana Movement, Senyo Hosi, has delivered a scathing critique of Ghana's fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, warning that current interventions have failed to produce meaningful results. Speaking on Joy News' Newsfile on August 22, 2026, in comments sighted by GhanaWeb on X, Hosi argued that despite arrests and the seizure of mining equipment by the National Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), the quality of water bodies, forest reserves and food security continues to deteriorate.
According to Ghana Web, Hosi questioned whether the measures being implemented were producing the desired policy outcomes. He expressed concern over the lack of progress in key areas such as water quality, stating that interventions have not yielded the expected policy impact. Hosi noted that by June 2026, NAIMOS had arrested 207 people and impounded or destroyed thousands of pieces of mining equipment, but argued that such figures alone did not demonstrate success in the fight against illegal mining.
Hosi maintained that the government should measure the success of its anti-galamsey interventions by examining their impact on the environment rather than focusing primarily on arrests, equipment seizures, and other activities. He emphasized that despite the arrests and equipment destruction, the quality of water bodies has not improved, which indicates a failure in the current policy approach.
Reflecting on past efforts, Hosi recalled that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's first term showed a genuine effort to tackle illegal mining, although political considerations eventually weakened the campaign. He suggested that the situation could have been different if the government had maintained its initial resolve, indicating that political interference has hindered progress.
Hosi stressed the need for policymakers to shift their focus from the resources and activities deployed to fight illegal mining to the actual results achieved. He criticized the current approach, which he believes focuses too much on inputs rather than tangible outcomes, and called for a reassessment of the strategies being used to combat galamsey.