Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng writes: Galamsey- Ghana has built this before

Richard Dablah's essay on Ghana's illegal mining problem highlights the issue of galamsey as a network rather than an activity, and the need for a more intelligent approach to tackle it. He emphasizes the accounting aspect of illegal mining, which transfers value from the present to the future, causing environmental damage and public health costs.

Dablah suggests that Ghana has never attempted such an intelligent fight to combat galamsey, and proposes a comprehensive system utilizing satellite imagery, drones, geospatial linkage, equipment registration, financial intelligence, and gold traceability. However, the author of this account asserts that Ghana had indeed implemented such a system, and it was known to those knowledgeable about the subject.

In the years 2017-2019, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, chaired by the author, put in place an architecture that included mapping and surveying artisanal and small-scale mining concessions using satellite systems and drones. This resulted in the creation of verified baselines for each mining licence, regularisation of 1,350 out of 5,000 entities, issuance of digital identity cards, and the publication of names and boundaries.

Additionally, 4,000 miners were trained in sustainable mining and mineral processing. The author introduces GalamSTOP, a software platform that integrated various ministries and commissions, and managed the entire lifecycle of a mining right. The platform also tracked compliance and had the capability to monitor satellite imagery in real time.

Despite the author's claims, the Forestry Commission and the Minerals Commission were reluctant to adopt the platform, allowing the illegal mining to continue. The author concludes by stating that the failure lies in the lack of institutional adoption, which is the missing variable in Dablah's argument.