President John Dramani Mahama’s latest clarification that he never promised to declare a state of emergency over illegal mining has reopened an old political argument over the NDC’s position on galamsey, particularly the contrast between some of the party’s statements while in opposition and its current position in government.
Speaking to Ghanaians in New York on Friday, September 25, 2026, President Mahama rejected reports that he intended to invoke emergency powers to deal with illegal mining.
“They said I said a state of emergency. I never ever said that. I never said I’ll declare a state of emergency,” he said.
The President explained that a state of emergency could be useful in exceptional circumstances but should be treated as a last resort. He questioned the practicality of declaring one across a problem affecting as many as 10 regions, arguing that emergency measures are more suited to an isolated area where government can concentrate resources, resolve the problem and subsequently lift the emergency.
Mahama said his administration already had sufficient legal and institutional powers to confront illegal mining and was deploying targeted operations in identified galamsey hotspots.
But the President’s clarification has revived questions about what the NDC and some of its leading figures said about galamsey before the party returned to power.
When the NDC accused the NPP
While in opposition, the NDC made illegal mining one of its strongest lines of attack against the Akufo-Addo administration.
In October 2023, then NDC National Communications Officer Sammy Gyamfi accused President Akufo-Addo and Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia of being “active collaborators and promoters” of the galamsey trade.
The NDC also warned that government appointees allegedly involved in illegal mining would face prosecution if the party returned to power. Mr Gyamfi said those accused should “prepare for their day of accountability,” insisting that alleged offences would not expire simply because the individuals were no longer in office.
The rhetoric became even stronger during the 2024 election campaign.
In May 2024, Mr Mahama accused the Akufo-Addo administration of mishandling the small-scale mining sector and alleged that the government’s approach favoured its allies. He also criticised what he described as selective enforcement against illegal miners.
By October 2024, Mr Mahama was telling President Akufo-Addo that dealing with galamsey was the responsibility of the government then in office, while assuring Ghanaians that if elected, he would take responsibility for addressing the menace after January 7, 2025.
The NDC’s campaign position also included a specific pledge concerning government appointees. In his 2024 campaign message on responsible mining, Mahama said no member of his government would be permitted to engage in mining and promised that appointees or party officials who violated mining laws would be prosecuted.
“If you want to be a miner, leave the government and be a miner; you can’t be in government and be a miner at the same time,” he later reiterated after taking office.
Some NDC voices went further on emergency powers
The current debate over a state of emergency is particularly notable because, during the 2024 campaign, some NDC figures openly advocated such a measure.
In October 2024, NDC Regional Director for Conflict Resolution Gideon Tetteh said the NDC would have declared a state of emergency over galamsey if it were in government, describing illegal mining as an existential threat requiring decisive action.
Another NDC communications team member, Vincent Letsa Kobla Djokoto, went further in September 2024, calling for a state of emergency and a halt to all mining activities while government assessed the scale of environmental destruction.
Those statements were made by individual NDC figures and do not, by themselves, establish that the party’s official presidential policy was to declare a nationwide state of emergency. Indeed, NDC Communications Officer Sammy Gyamfi subsequently said in September 2025 that the party had never formally supported such a declaration, including while it was in opposition.
That distinction is central to the current controversy.
The promise to prosecute appointees
Another area attracting scrutiny is the NDC’s earlier insistence that political connections would not shield people accused of illegal mining.
In 2024, Mr Gyamfi said the NDC would hold accountable NPP officials allegedly involved in galamsey, while Mahama promised during the campaign that government appointees and party officials who breached mining laws would face prosecution.
The pledge became part of the NDC’s broader argument that the previous government lacked the political will to tackle illegal mining because, in the party’s view, politically connected individuals were involved.
The NDC also accused the Akufo-Addo government of turning the fight against illegal mining into a scheme through which politically connected actors could benefit from the sector. Those were political allegations made by the opposition and were disputed by the then-government and NPP.
From opposition rhetoric to government responsibility
The political equation changed after the December 2024 election, when Mahama returned to the presidency.
Galamsey has remained a major environmental and political challenge, with illegal mining affecting forests, farmland and water bodies and continuing to generate demands for tougher enforcement.
The Mahama administration has introduced or continued several measures, including enforcement operations, reclamation initiatives and restrictions on government officials engaging in mining.
But the latest presidential comments make clear that the government is not presently choosing a state-of-emergency approach.
Mahama’s argument is that the state already possesses sufficient authority to deal with illegal mining and that emergency powers should only be deployed when ordinary mechanisms prove inadequate.
That position is also consistent with the NDC’s subsequent clarification in 2025 that the party did not officially support a state of emergency.
