Source: GALAMSEY FIGHT: I Can’t See The Real Justification For Declaring A State of Emergency – Tsatsu Tsika
Tsatsu Tsikata is a renowned Ghanaian lawyer
Renowned Ghanaian lawyer, Tsatsu Tsikata, has admonished individuals and organisations calling on President John Dramani Mahama to declare a state of emergency as a measure to curb the menace of illegal mining activities to be measured in their demand.
Mr Tsikata posits that declaring a state of emergency has its own unique ramifications, since it grants the President some “unusual powers” which could impact the rights of the citizenry.
Speaking during a panel discussion on the issues of galamsey and its negative impact on the environment on TV3’s Agenda programme on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Mr Tsikata noted that the way to deal with an existential threat is not to declare a state of emergency.
He said, “The way to deal with an existential threat is not necessarily to declare a state of emergency, because when you declare a state of emergency, it is to enable you to do something which you will not otherwise be able to do. If you can deploy troops or mobilise community support to fight galamsey, why not? Let’s not behave as if nothing has been done in relation to galamsey… I have to say that sometimes people should be careful what they wish for.”
Pressure continues to mount on the President from the Clergy, UTAG, and other CSOs to declare a state of emergency as one of the surest ways to halt illegal mining, following a recent shutdown of the Kwanyako Treatment Centre of the Ghana Water Company Limited due to the increase in the turbidity of the water and the high cost of treating the water.
“A lot of the time, people talk as if once you make some legal adjustments here and there, once you declare a state of emergency or whatever, you have solved the problem – that is far from it. We shouldn’t be focused just on laws. We should focus on the nature of the problem,” he added.
“The easiest thing is for the President to say I’m declaring a state of emergency. It is a declaration that he can make according to the constitutional provisions. But even after you make that declaration, how are you going to implement your enforcement capabilities? What is the capacity that you have in terms of the state of the economy, the resources that are available to the government to be able to deploy in this manner?” he quizzed.
Mr Tsikata warned that “Declaring a state of emergency, and you will notice that in the Constitution, emergency powers are dealt with in the chapters that have to do with human rights, actually gives powers to the President to do things which, in the normal course, he would not have the ability to do.
“So, I think that people should be careful about some of the demands for a state of emergency. Because you ask yourself, do you really want the President to have unusual powers that he can use in the state of emergency? In my view, I can’t see the real justification for a state of emergency,” he added.
