The #FixTheCountry Movement is planning a major street protest on May 1, 2025, to demand urgent action from government on illegal and irresponsible mining activities destroying Ghana’s forests and communities.
Lead convener, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, made this known on JoyFM’s Ghana Connect on Friday, April 4, 2025, describing the upcoming protest dubbed “May Day, May Day”—as a symbolic cry for help over the country’s worsening environmental crisis.
“For months, we have seen the government act swiftly on other matters. But on this, there’s no clear roadmap. People say we should give them more time, but we believe time has already been wasted. We are stepping out to demand urgent and serious action,” he stated.
He stressed that the conversation around illegal mining should move away from simply categorising operations as legal or illegal, and instead focus on the broader issue of responsible versus irresponsible mining practices
“We often focus too much on legality. But the real issue is irresponsibility—how mining is done and its impact on people and the environment. Some big mining companies, though considered legal, are also destroying forests, and the state has allowed it by giving them huge concessions. Meanwhile, local communities remain impoverished, which in turn fuels illegal mining. That too is galamsey,” he stressed.
Mr Barker-Vormawor revealed that his law firm, in collaboration with seven environmental organisations, has been in court since last year to stop mining in protected forest reserves. However, the case has stalled.
He accused the government of misleading the court by claiming that the law permitting mining in forest reserves—Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2462—had been repealed, a claim he says is false.
Meanwhile, the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah, has revealed that the government has arrested 76 illegal miners and seized 100 excavators since President Mahama returned to office in January.
In a related development, Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak has directed the Inspector General of Police to immediately transfer all police commanders stationed in mining areas, as part of a broader crackdown on galamsey activities.
He made this announcement during an engagement with Imams and Zongo chiefs in Kumasi.
Despite these efforts, the #FixTheCountry Movement insists much more needs to be done.
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