Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, a renowned legal scholar and Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has made a compelling call for a radical, uncompromising strategy to end Ghana’s destructive illegal mining menace, popularly known as galamsey.
According to him, the country’s current approach treats galamsey as a routine criminal offense, rather than the national security and ecological emergency it truly represents.
“We are fighting galamsey like it is an ordinary crime. We go to the sites, arrest a few people, parade them, arraign them, then there’s bail, and the case joins the traffic-choked highway of justice.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
He criticized the pattern of token arrests and slow prosecutions that have done little to deter financiers and sponsors who, he argued, are the real architects of the crisis.
“As for the financiers, we hardly touch them. And if we do, they get elite treatment. But the financiers of galamsey are not merely breaking mining laws; they are committing ecocide — the deliberate destruction of the natural foundations of life.
“Every ounce of illegal gold costs a river its soul, a child their health, and a community its future.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
Galamsey Financiers as Economic Terrorists
Describing galamsey financiers as “economic terrorists,” Professor Asare said their greed simultaneously destroys Ghana’s water security, food security, and moral security.
These financiers, he explained, control the lifelines of illegal mining — from fuel and mercury to excavators, chamfans, and cash.
“Galamsey financiers have declared war on our rivers, our soil, and our people. They have sown the wind and they must reap the whirlwind. We must meet them boot for boot.
“We cannot fight galamsey using the Queensberry rules. We must define the terms of engagement to ensure that we defeat them decisively.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare,
To that end, the CDD Fellow outlined ten bold, strategic measures that, if implemented, could transform the fight against illegal mining and restore the country’s degraded ecosystems.
Operation Mercury – Ghana
First, he proposed the launch of Operation Mercury – Ghana, a coordinated military-civilian campaign targeting the entire illegal-mining supply chain — not just the small-scale miners on the ground.
“Go after the mercury, fuel, excavators, chamfan, and cash,” he urged. He cited Peru’s Operation Mercury, which reduced deforestation by over 90 percent, as proof that Ghana can replicate similar results.
“The military must not merely seize equipment and arrest miners; they must occupy the sites to ensure they do not return,” he said, emphasizing the need for site reclamation and sustained control.
Parliamentary Actions and Cross-Border Controls
Second, Professor Asare called for urgent parliamentary action to criminalize organized environmental destruction. “Parliament must, under a certificate of urgency, enact a Domestic Ecocide Law holding financiers and enablers liable as principals,” he said.
He also recommended amendments to the Anti-Money-Laundering Act (Act 1044, 2020) to compel financial institutions to report suspicious mining-linked transactions, the introduction of Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO) to enable asset forfeiture, and an expansion of forfeiture powers to seize properties tied to illegal mining.
Furthermore, he called for tougher cross-border controls, including bans on the manufacture or import of chamfans and mercury, the imposition of targeted sanctions and travel bans on suspected financiers, and the freezing of their accounts until they can demonstrate lawful acquisition of their assets.
He stressed the need for whistle-blower protection and civil litigation mechanisms to recover what he described as “stolen environmental wealth.”
His third proposal focused on establishing Ecocide Courts — special environmental divisions of the High Court solely dedicated to galamsey and ecological crimes.
“They will not tolerate frivolous adjournments, endless interlocutory motions, or delay tactics masquerading as due process.
“Trials must conclude within 90 days because justice delayed is impunity rewarded. Speedy trials are inherent in justice itself, not an exception to it.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
Professor Asare further called for the enforcement of strict bail terms for accused financiers. “No routine bail for financiers; if granted, bail must equal the full value of the environmental damage alleged to have been caused.”
He also proposed automatic asset forfeiture from the moment credible suspicion arises. “The law must move as swiftly as the excavators,” he said.
Under this proposal, all seized assets and funds would be channelled into a National River and Forest Restoration Fund to finance reclamation projects. “The spoils of destruction must become the seeds of renewal,” he added.
Fast-Tracking of Financial Investigations
Another key proposal was the fast-tracking of financial investigations. He called for the empowerment of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to trace money flows in real time. “Unexplained wealth in mining zones must be treated as a red flag for immediate audit and prosecution,” he noted.
Professor Asare also advocated for a national “name, shame, and debar” policy, under which convicted galamsey financiers and their companies would be publicly named and permanently barred from government contracts, corporate boards, and political donations.
“Those who destroy our rivers and forests should never again profit from the state,” he declared. He further recommended that seized assets from galamsey operations be redirected to train and employ youth in reclamation and green industries.
“Convert seized excavators into tools for development. The youth can be trained to operate them for road construction, reclamation, and public-works projects that build rather than destroy. Let those who destroyed the land finance its recovery.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
One of his most controversial yet firm proposals was a lifetime ban on convicted galamsey financiers and their political patrons from participating in politics.
“They must be barred from funding, contesting, or holding public office. Those who profit from poisoned rivers or protect those who do have already corrupted the public trust; they cannot be trusted to hold it. A democracy financed by poisoned rivers cannot endure.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
Finally, Professor Asare called for enhanced sentencing guidelines, including life imprisonment without the possibility of pardon for financiers and organizers of large-scale environmental destruction.
He justified these extraordinary measures on three grounds — national security, public interest, and anti-money-laundering precedents.
“We must use these tools to stop those who treat our rivers and people as expendable profit. If we continue fighting with the Queensberry rules, we will lose both our rivers and our moral compass.
“But if we redefine the battle as a war to save our collective future, we can still reclaim our lands, our waters, and our dignity.”
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare
Through his detailed policy framework, Professor Asare reframed the galamsey crisis not as a mere law enforcement issue, but as an existential battle for Ghana’s survival — one that demands the full force of the law, the state, and the conscience of its people.
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