By Alex Ababio
Ghana’s battle against galamsey has reached a turning point, with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources signaling that Legislative Instrument (LI) 2462 could soon be repealed as part of sweeping measures to confront the nation’s illegal mining crisis.
The revelation comes in the wake of the August 6 helicopter crash near Obuasi that claimed eight lives—including two cabinet ministers—an incident that has intensified national grief and anger over government’s perceived failure to curb what experts now call “environmental terrorism.”
At a time when polluted rivers, poisoned farmlands, and collapsing communities have become grim reminders of galamsey’s toll, critics say the tragedy should have prompted an immediate state of emergency. Instead, pressure is mounting for government to finally dismantle weak mining regulations that many believe have fueled the crisis.
Crunch Cabinet Meeting on LI 2462
Confirming these shifts, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, Media Relations Officer of the Lands Ministry, disclosed that Cabinet has already debated the fate of LI 2462, a controversial instrument long faulted by activists and environmentalists.
“I could say authoritatively now here is that there’s a renewed conversation on LI 2462, and in the not too distant future there would be an appropriate communication in that particular respect where the repeal is concerned. That conversation has been had. Indeed, there was a crunch Cabinet meeting that exhausted that possibility, and so the final outcome will be communicated very soon,” Schandorf revealed on Newsfile on Saturday, August 16.
Mounting Pressure for Action
The Obuasi crash has sparked calls for a tougher stance on illegal mining, with many accusing successive governments of playing politics while rivers like Pra, Offin, and Ankobra choke with mercury and mud. Experts warn that if left unchecked, galamsey could wipe out Ghana’s freshwater reserves within a decade.
Civil society groups insist that repealing LI 2462 is a critical first step, but stress that enforcement and political will remain the real test.
Mahama to Lead “Relentless” Campaign
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has declared that President Mahama will personally lead a “ruthless nationwide fight” against galamsey, describing it as a “relentless and unprecedented campaign to eradicate illegal mining.”
Whether this new wave of promises will translate into action is the question many Ghanaians are asking. For now, families of the Obuasi victims have been given state burials, but the wider national demand is clear: end galamsey before more lives, lands, and rivers are lost.