GALAMSEY: The position of the Socialist Movement of Ghana

#GALAMSEY The position of the Socialist Movement of Ghana (@SocialistGhana) on Galamsey is very clear. At its Standing Committee meeting on Friday, October 17, 2025, the #SMG took the following position: Domestically, the SMG is deeply alarmed by the persistent destruction of Ghana’s environment, particularly the poisoning of our rivers and forests through ‘illegal’ mining (galamsey). These acts of environmental vandalism continue unabated due to state inaction, collusion, and the insatiable greed of profit-seeking elites.

But they are also caused by the structural causes of rural (and Ghanaian) poverty, the extractive agricultural reliance on cocoa, colonial policies of divide and rule, turning Chiefs against the people and the public interest, and the desperation of young Ghanaians to survive and earn a quick buck, no matter the consequences.

We demand immediate, transparent, and decisive action by the government to halt this devastation. Ghana’s natural wealth must serve the collective good and not the interests of private profiteers or foreign capital. The plunder of our lands and waters is an assault on future generations.

#Galamsey must be tackled at its root causes, returning the land to the public sector, providing youth with meaningful and high-earning work, ensuring every Ghanaian a high-quality and free higher education, and restructuring the rural industry with an eye towards food sovereignty, environmentally sustainable practices, and cooperative agrarian work”.