Prof. Boadi: Ghana’s galamsey fight lacks seriousness

A finance professor is adding his voice to growing frustration over Ghana’s handling of illegal mining, and his verdict on the current administration is pointed: the effort simply is not serious enough.

Prof. Isaac Boadi, Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at the University of Professional Studies, made the remarks on JoyNews AM Show on Friday, drawing on findings presented at a press conference his institute held at the Accra International Conference Centre.

“The commitment or effort of this administration, for me, has not been aggressive enough in the fight against galamsey,” he said.

The numbers behind his concern are stark. Between 50 and 70 percent of Ghana’s water bodies have been contaminated by illegal mining activity, and the Ghana Water Company has already flagged that treating water for public consumption is becoming increasingly difficult as a result. Beyond the environmental toll, Prof. Boadi stressed that the country is hemorrhaging revenue it can ill afford to lose.

What made his critique particularly sharp was his use of the President’s own words against the administration. He noted that the President had publicly acknowledged that individuals within his own party, as well as some traditional leaders, are involved in galamsey, and drew a sobering conclusion from that admission. “If a president makes such a statement, it tells you the fight is beyond him,” Prof. Boadi said.

He also turned his lens on civil society, a sector he described as the “voice of conscience”, one that has gone conspicuously quiet. Organizations that once loudly pressured previous administrations, at times calling for a state of emergency, appear far less agitated under the current government. Prof. Boadi said he never supported the state of emergency call and still does not, but that only sharpens his question about what is actually being done instead. “The point is, what are the other mechanisms or solutions that we have to solve this problem? Will the declaration of a state of emergency give the zeal that we are talking about?” he asked.

His message to government and stakeholders was straightforward: stop talking and start acting in ways that are deliberate, visible and sustained. Rhetoric, he concluded, has never cleaned a river.

Source: myjoyonline.com