Joseph Yamin, ex-Deputy Sports Minister and a powerful voice within the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), has openly ordered President John Dramani Mahama to immediately halt the anti-illegal mining task force currently pursuing galamsey operators.
Yamin insists the clampdown is strangling the livelihoods of thousands in mining communities — and could cost the NDC dearly at the ballot box in the 2028 general elections.
According to him, galamseyers have become the lifeline of community survival, financing social and religious programmes. “These are the very people invited to chair church harvests, sponsor local events, and fund community development because of the wealth they generate through mining,” he declared.
His explosive remarks expose the raw political dilemma facing the Mahama government: protect Ghana’s rivers, forests, and farmlands from destruction, or protect electoral fortunes.
Environmental experts have repeatedly warned that galamsey is poisoning water bodies, destroying cocoa farms, and threatening national food security. Yet, Yamin’s directive shows that sections of the ruling party are ready to sacrifice environmental sustainability for political survival.
By publicly pressuring the President to back down, the ex-Deputy Sports Minister has reignited fears that Ghana’s war on illegal mining is being compromised — not by lack of will, but by raw electoral calculations.
