The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has cautioned that Ghana is approaching a stage where declaring a state of emergency may become necessary to deal with the widespread devastation caused by illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The warning follows President John Dramani Mahama’s comments at his first presidential media encounter of his second term, where he stated that his administration was not in a rush to declare a state of emergency, arguing that existing laws already provide sufficient authority to address the menace.
Speaking at a media engagement on Wednesday, September 10, Board Chair of the IEA, Dr. Charles Mensa, stressed that the scale of destruction could soon leave the government with no alternative but to invoke emergency powers.
“In terms of declaring an emergency, I think we’re creeping towards that. The intensity at which galamsey is taking place, we are getting to a point where a state of emergency would have to be declared.
“As to when, we don’t have much information or security information as the President does. We will leave it to him. But the urgency is near; we all see it coming,” he said.
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