By Nick OPOKU
Ghana is Africa's largest producer of gold and one of the world's largest. Gold plays a critical role in Ghana's economy; contributing nearly half of the country's exports in 2023, according to central bank data.
Illegal small-scale mining (galamsey), however, continues to wreak havoc on the environment,...
In response to the reported US$1billion sale of Newmont’s Akyem gold mine to China’s Zijin Mining Group, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is calling for significant constitutional amendments to safeguard the nation’s natural resources.
The IEA describes the deal as “flawed in several respects, inimical to Ghana’s interest and...
By Samuel Lartey (Prof.)
[email protected]
Ghana, once lauded as an African success story, has faced significant economic hurdles in recent years, from overburdened national debt to the volatile depreciation of the cedi, sky-high inflation, and the environmental destruction caused by illegal mining (Galamsey).
As the country nears the 2024 General Elections, signs...
The United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Mr. Charles Abani, has observed that addressing illegal mining or galamsey is crucial to establishing a sustainable economy.
He further indicated that illegal mining has devastating impacts on people, poverty, jobs, child-labour, the environment and water, while also driving illicit financial flows.
The...
By Isaac Yaw OBENG
Agricultural exports contribute significantly to Ghana’s economy. According to the data, agri-food products worth US$3.4billion were exported from Ghana over the period 2022 and 2023 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2023.
Ghana’s agricultural-related exports are led by Cocoa and Cocoa preparations ($1.090B), Edible fruits, nuts, peel of citrus fruit, melons (US$387.29M), and Animal, vegetable...
By Samuel SAM
Vice Chancellor-University for Development Studies (UDS), Prof. Seidu Al-Hassan, has called for stricter policies to combat illegal mining - warning that the practice threatens food security and the nation's overall development.
"The continued engagement in illegal mining, known as galamsey, along the country's water-bodies and forests threatens our...
A toxicologist made a submission on JOYNewsfile recently and noted that restoring the quality of a damaged biological system such as water may need a decade. The comment centred on efforts at reclaiming environmentally degraded lands and whether they actually restore the fertility of soils.
However, a researcher with the...
As part of the fight against illegal mining, Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has intensified calls for the introduction of a new law that will mandate using ISO-14001 - an environmental management framework - across all mining operations as part of the country’s fight against illegal mining.
ISO 14001 is the...
By Ernest Bako WUBONTO
The Ghana Chamber of Mines has seconded government’s decision to revoke the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L. I. 2462) as part of a new move in the fight against illegal mining commonly known as galamsey.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has directed that...