‘There’s no leadership in this galamsey fight’ – Prof Bokpin goes hard on President Mahama

Professor of Finance and Economist at the University of Ghana, Prof Godfred Bokpin, has criticised President John Mahama’s handling of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, saying the fight lacks the leadership needed to address the scale of the problem.

He described the destruction caused by illegal mining as evil and questioned how those responsible could continue to damage the environment without facing decisive action from the State.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 31, during a discussion on the Mahama administration’s fight against galamsey, Prof Bokpin said the situation reflected a failure of leadership and accountability.

“My considered view is that this is evil. This is evil. There's nobody created in the image and likeness of God who would tolerate this. Nobody,” he said.

To illustrate what he considers a lack of direction in the fight, the economist referred to Judges 21:25 in the Bible, which describes a period when there was no king in Israel, and people did whatever they considered right.

Quoting the passage, he said: “In those days, there was no king in Israel, and everybody did what was right in his own eyes.”

Prof Bokpin argued that the situation surrounding illegal mining in Ghana reflected a similar absence of leadership, with people acting without sufficient control or accountability.

“In this galamsey business, there’s no leadership. Everybody is doing as they see fit in their own eyes,” he said.

He further pointed to the constitutional responsibility of the President to protect the country's natural resources, saying that the environment is held in trust for the people of Ghana.

"It's not for nothing the constitution puts all of these things under the care of the President to hold this in trust for the people of Ghana."

He questioned why the destruction was being allowed to continue despite the responsibility placed on the highest office of the land to safeguard the country's natural heritage.

“What are we doing to ourselves? We are becoming less and less human beings. How can we do this to ourselves? Who would we run to?” he asked.

Prof Bokpin also mentioned what he described as attempts to place the blame for illegal mining on low-level operators while overlooking the influential individuals and interests behind the activities.

He said that the scale of illegal mining could not be explained solely by the involvement of ordinary miners, particularly when heavy equipment and other resources were required.

“Which JHS leaver can import a changfan?” he said, questioning the tendency to focus on lower-level operators rather than those financing and facilitating the activities.

The economist said illegal mining had existed in Ghana for decades but had expanded to a more worrying scale as politically connected individuals and interests became involved.

He said that the problem had moved beyond small-scale operators, with powerful interests allegedly investing in and benefiting from the illegal mining business.

Turning to President Mahama, Prof Bokpin warned that the government could not claim to be managing the economy effectively while the environmental foundations on which economic activity depends continued to deteriorate.

He said that environmental protection must be treated as an essential part of economic management.

“Mr President, you cannot talk about managing an economy when the very foundation of this economy, being the environment, the ecological integrity, is being compromised,” he said.

“I'm very sorry, Mr President. I'm very sorry.”