The Acting Chief Justice of Ghana, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has urged political leaders to take decisive and far-reaching measures to tackle the growing menace of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Speaking at the opening of the 2025 Ghana Bar Association (GBA) Annual Conference in Wa on Monday, September 15, 2025, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, in a speech delivered on his behalf by Supreme Court Judge Justice Hafisata Amaleboba, expressed concern that the measures currently being implemented to combat illegal mining appear “halfhearted.”
“The menace has gotten worse, and all indications are that the measures being employed to combat it are not yielding the desired results,” he said.
He lamented the devastating impact of galamsey, noting that it has polluted major water bodies, destroyed forests and farmlands, and displaced entire communities.
“Considering the unspeakable deaths, pain, and destruction that galamsey has brought to this country, I urge political leadership to take bold and far-reaching measures to bring this menace to a long-overdue end,” Justice Baffoe-Bonnie stressed.
He further called on government to reconsider existing policies that allow mining in forest reserves, insisting that repealing the Environmental Protection Mining and Forest Reserve Regulations 2022 (LI 246) would be a critical starting point.
“We cannot continue to dither in September 2025 on the repeal of LI 246, which has permitted mining in forest reserves. It is a good place to start if we sincerely want to win the war against galamsey. The time to act is now, without any further delay,” he added.
The GBA conference brought together legal practitioners, judges, and policymakers to discuss pressing issues confronting the legal and governance landscape in Ghana, with illegal mining dominating discussions.
Read Also: GES Pledges Intervention Following Cape Coast School Tour
Source: Audrey Akazum Afolley/ATLFMNEWS
