Convener of the Coalition Against Illegal Mining and CEO of Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, has intensified calls for the Executive to demand direct accountability from local government officials stationed in mining-impacted districts.
Ashigbey asserts that the persistent failure to secure prosecutions and the visible presence of illegal operations, popularly known as galamsey, suggest a level of incompetence or complicity among local authorities.
He posited that the current approach, which relies on centralized task forces dispatched from the capital, undermines the established authority of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) who serve as the heads of their respective District Security Councils.
“Anybody who has galamsey happening in his community is either too incompetent to represent the President, or he himself is complicit in the illegality that is happening. His Excellency should hold them also accountable. We should not have MCEs and DCEs sitting in their various communities and expecting the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources to be dispatching task forces.”
Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey
Expanding on this governance crisis, Ashigbey noted that while the President has previously designated the fight against illegal mining as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for local leaders, the results on the ground tell a different story.
The inability of MMDCEs to monitor and halt illegal activities within their jurisdictions essentially facilitates the “destruction of our water bodies and forest reserves.”
By allowing galamsey to thrive under their watch, these officials are seen as either lacking the will to enforce the law or being part of the patronage networks that protect the “kingpins” and “politically exposed persons” named in high-profile investigations, such as the Prof. Frimpong-Boateng report.
The Statutory Burden of MMDCEs in Resource Governance
Under the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), MMDAs are the “highest political authority” in their districts, tasked with the overall development and environmental protection of their jurisdictions.
Specifically, Section 12 mandates these authorities to execute plans for the effective mobilization of resources and the preservation of the environment.
In the extractive sector, MMDCEs are supposed to act as the primary oversight body, ensuring that small-scale mining is conducted within the legal frameworks established by the Minerals Commission. Their failure to act is not merely a lapse in judgment but a breach of their statutory responsibility to safeguard the public interest.
Institutional Inaction and the Erosion of Rule of Law
The systemic inaction of local authorities creates a vacuum that “illegal actors and kingpins” readily fill. When an MCE or DCE fails to report or stop an illegal operation, it emboldens miners to disregard the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).
This institutional paralysis has led to a situation where investigations into entities like Akonta Mining remain in limbo despite clear evidence of environmental infractions.
Ashigbey argued that without a collaborative framework involving the Attorney General and the Chief Justice to ensure “effective prosecutions and convictions,” the efforts of the police and military task forces will remain a temporary fix to a permanent problem.
Holding the Kingpins and Local Leaders Accountable
To salvage the extractive sector, there must be a shift from targeting the “foot soldiers” in the pits to prosecuting the orchestrators of these large-scale operations.
Ashigbey highlighted the need for a “collaborative framework” where the President works closely with his ministers to dismantle the networks of “politically exposed persons” who remain untouched.
The lack of accountability at the local level ensures that galamsey remains a “lucrative venture” for a few at the expense of national security and environmental sustainability.
For the fight to be won, the Presidency must move beyond rhetoric and enforce the promised KPIs, ensuring that any local leader who permits the pollution of “blue waters and green forests” faces immediate dismissal and prosecution.
READ ALSO: MahamaCares Partners MoH to Build Three State-of-the-Art Catheterization Labs
