In the fight against illegal mining, often known as galamsey, President John Dramani Mahama has declared that his administration is not in a rush to declare a state of emergency, arguing that current laws give enough authority to successfully combat the threat.
The President warned against declaring a state of emergency too soon, although acknowledging the mounting public demand to take strong action against illegal mining operations during his media appearance in Accra on Wednesday, September 10.
“I’ve been reluctant to implement a state of emergency in the galamsey fight because we’ve not exhausted the powers we even have without a state of emergency,” President Mahama explained.
“We have the opportunity to arrest anybody, to confiscate any such thing. The laws for forest protection and all that give us enough powers to be able to act.”
He reaffirmed his administration’s resolve to enforce current laws more strictly and emphasized that declaring a state of emergency should only be used as a last resort.
Declaring a state of emergency may seem like a good idea, but it should only be used as a last resort. Therefore, let’s use all of our available powers for the time being. If a state of emergency is required, we’ll consider it,” he continued.
