L-R: Richard Ahiagbah, Dr Joshua Zaato, Ken Ashigbey and Manasse Azure
President John Dramani Mahama held his first media encounter, since he was sworn into office on January, 2025.
While engaging with journalists on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, he addressed pressing national issues during the questions and answers session of the event.
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The event focused on a range of topics, including updates on the prosecution of cases under Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), illegal mining, the GoldBod initiative, assault on journalists, among other things.
One of the statements by President Mahama which appears to have sparked public discourse, particularly, negative reactions, was his comment on the issue of illegal mining, locally known as galamsey.
During his address, President Mahama explained why the task force established by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to tackle illegal mining was withdrawn.
He stated that its operations were disrupting activities and intimidating licensed small-scale miners who were being mistaken for galamsey operators.
The President also opposed calls for the declaration of a state of emergency on galamsey, stating that his government had not yet exhausted all available measures to address the menace.
His comments, however appear to have not sat well with some individuals, who have openly expressed their disappointment in the President’s remarks.
Manasseh Azure
Investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure, expressed disappointment and despair in the country’s quest to win the war against illegal mining.
He posited that, although President Mahama demonstrated a firm grasp of various sectors during his media encounter on September 10, 2025, he did not show sufficient commitment to combating galamsey during his first term, and his current posture suggests a similar approach.
Azure, who shared his disappointment in a Facebook post, insisted that the President’s handling of galamsey clearly demonstrated a lack of seriousness and desire to end the menace immediately with bold solutions.
“On galamsey, however, he has been very disappointing. The decay did not start in the last 8 years of Akufo-Addo, as the President said. I was a journalist when President Mahama was president.
“In his first term, I did not see the seriousness in fighting the menace and his body language doesn’t seem to show that it will be any different now,” he wrote.
Richard Ahiagbah
The NPP’s National Communications Director also described the President’s remarks as “demoralising.”
In a post on X on Thursday, September 11, 2025, Ahiagbah said the President’s justification, particularly for not declaring a state of emergency, was ‘disappointing’, asserting that the current government, while in opposition, had previously expressed contrary views on the galamsey menace.
“Wahala dey road dey come…. President Mahama’s answer on galamsey is demoralising. This confirms why Ghanaians say President Akufo-Addo fought galamsey more decisively than President Mahama. To put it mildly, the explanation for not declaring a state of emergency is disappointing, given that the president in opposition promised to declare war on galamseyers,” he said.
Ken Ashigbey
The Convenor of the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey, Kenneth Ashigbey, also weighed in on President Mahama’s comments; saying ‘it did not inspire hope’ in the fight against galamsey.
In a statement on September 11, 2025, he said, “The President’s statement on September 10, 2025, speaking at the Presidential Media Encounter at Jubilee House at 8:00pm, on galamsey did not convey the urgency required in the fight to rid this country of unprecedented environmental terrorism”.
“The posture has downplayed the severity of the crisis, which has led to the pollution of over 60% of waterbodies with heavy metals, the displacement of farmers both for cash and food crops, and the devastation of our forest reserves,” parts of the statement read.
Dr Joshua Zaato
A lecturer at the University of Ghana, also reacting to the President’s comments on galamsey, questioned the government’s promises made while in opposition ahead of the 2024 general elections, contrasting them with its current stance.
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He went as far as telling Ghanaians who voted for the government that they have been “scammed.”
“If you voted for the government in 2024 because you believe they will vigorously fight galamsey, someone has used you for a job and you have been scammed,” he posted on Facebook on September 11, 2025.
MAG/VPO
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