The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah has said that the next step in the fight against illegal mining is to declare all forest reserves and water bodies as security zones.
This measure is the latest in the government’s quest to curb the galamsey menace, following heightened calls by stakeholders for a declaration of state of emergency.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based GTV on September 24, Mr Kofi Buah said “…we are undertaking policy reforms, stakeholder engagement, one is to strengthen enforcement. These things that I am talking about…Why did we establish the Blue Water Guard?, ” he quizzed.
The Lands Minister added, “…And now, in the last week or so the President has made it clear that we are going a step that says that all the water bodies and forest reserves are going to be security zones…and we are preparing to deploy permanent security forces to these areas.”
He noted that the level of destruction caused by galamsey to the environment requires more time to resolve.
“With the level of destruction that this government came to meet, we are under no illusion that it is going to be solved in 8 months. But we are proud of what we are doing. This is a listening government, and we are going to do more,” he assured.
Despite the measures outlined by the government to fight the galamsey menace, many stakeholders have expressed dissatisfaction owing to the severity of the effects on the environment and humans.
The calls heightened after findings by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) indicated that mercury contamination in some water bodies is as high as 500 times.
The report further indicated that many food items grown in mining areas have heavy metals in them including, taro leaves or Nkontomire and tomatoes.
The research was undertaken in six regions namely, Western, Eastern, and Ashanti regions. The rest are Central, Savannah and Western North regions.
In the Ashanti region specifically, water samples from multiple streams and testing of vegetables were taken from communities including, Konongo Odumase, Konongo zongo and Nyamebekyere in the Obuasi Municipality.
The study was undertaken between August 2024 – and September 2025.
Below is the full report:
