NewzDeputy Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, has warned that Ghana’s fight against illegal mining has reached “a point of hopelessness”, saying the country’s rivers and forests continue to suffer despite government interventions and the sacrifice of eight officials who died in last year’s helicopter crash. Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, August 6, during a discussion marking the first anniversary of the helicopter crash and the country’s battle against galamsey, Mr Bosu said the systems introduced to tackle illegal mining have failed to deliver the expected results. “I think that we started well, but if you ask me, I would say now we are at a point of hopelessness because every system we put in place is failing to yield the needed results and outcomes,” he said.
According to Mr Bosu, the government must urgently prioritise the protection of key national assets, particularly forest reserves and river bodies, if it wants to win the fight against illegal mining. “We need to secure our forest reserves against galamsey. We need to secure our river systems against galamsey, and our approach should be very uncompromising,” he stressed.
He said that enforcement should be applied fairly and consistently, warning against selective action. “It is not enough to jail Wontumi while many others are left to continue the impunity,” Mr Bosu said. “If there is anything this government can do, then these key economic sectors need to be protected, and government must start that now.” Reflecting on the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of eight people, he described the anniversary as “a sad day”, recalling that he represented the Coalition Against Galamsey in Obuasi while waiting for the delegation to arrive for the commissioning of a responsible community mining project.
The victims of the August 6 helicopter crash were attending the launch of the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme, rCOMSDEP, at Obuasi, a flagship initiative designed to transform Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. Mr Bosu said the country had failed to honour those who died through meaningful action against illegal mining. “It is really sad to see that despite Ghanaians compassionately mourning, pouring in tributes and all of that, we have not taken action to honour their names,” he said.
“What we have rather done is play around with a… It was meant to be another chapter in Ghana’s war against galamsey. Instead, August 6, 2025, became one of the darkest days in the nation’s recent history.
Eight of the country’s citizens, including senior government officials, the Defence and Environment ministers, tragically lost their lives in a helicopter crash when they were travelling to an event in Obuasi aimed at confronting illegal mining. One year after the tragic incident, what lessons has the country learnt in the quest to mitigate against illegal mining that continues to ravage natural resources? Their death shook the core of the nation.
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