Ellen Ama Daaku, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team, has said that stopping illegal mining (galamsey) in Ghana is unlikely if miners continue to earn more than the national minimum wage.
Speaking in an interview, Ama Daaku noted that the high income from illegal mining provides strong economic incentives for young people, making enforcement efforts challenging. She explained that many youths cannot survive on the national minimum wage of GH¢700 a month, while their peers engaged in galamsey reportedly earn much more.
Her comments underscore a key challenge in the fight against galamsey: balancing strict enforcement with providing alternative livelihoods to those involved in illegal mining activities.
Ama Daaku’s remarks contribute to ongoing debates about how best to curb galamsey, which continues to cause environmental degradation and social problems in mining communities across the country.
