The Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has highlighted the economic importance of illegal mining, popularly known as "galamsey," and explained why it cannot be banned entirely.
In a video shared on social media, the former president is heard addressing a gathering, where he stated that galamsey is responsible for Ghana's increased gold exports and has also helped reduce unemployment. "The fight against galamsey will be very difficult because gold is currently sustaining Ghana's economy, and it's largely due to galamsey.
We used to produce 80 tons per year, but now we are producing 135 tons, and the additional tons come from galamsey.
So, if we ban galamsey, production will decrease, our exports will reduce, and unemployment will rise dramatically because all the people involved in galamsey will become jobless," John Mahama said.