Unearthing the Challenges of Galamsey in Ghana: A Nexus of Environmental Politics and

Infrastructure
Introduction

At the global level, mining contributes to the socioeconomic development of many

countries. This is so in the developing world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where the

mining sector is dominated by small-scale miners (Akudugu, Mahama, and Atami 2013).

Across the continent, a variety of minerals are mined in this sector and in Ghana, two-thirds of

all mining production involves gold (Hentschel, Hruschka, and Priester 2002). In addition, in

Ghana, small-scale gold mining makes more of a direct contribution to foreign exchange and

export earnings than large-scale mines (Hilson 2003). Small-scale mining in Ghana is not a new

phenomenon in the country. It has been in existence for over six centuries and predates

colonialism (Akudugu, Mahama, and Atami 2013). In precolonial times, Ghana produced and

used gold for the manufacturing of traditional artifacts. Hilson (2003) reports that even before

the era of colonialism, present-day Ghana was one of the major sources of the gold that reached

Europe through the trans-Saharan trade routes with foiled attempts by most Europeans to locate

and control the country’s gold fortunes.

The regularization of small-scale mining in Ghana in 1989 seems to have popularized the

activity with the country experiencing a rapid and unprecedented upsurge in both legal and

illegal small-scale mining activities (Akudugu, Mahama, and Atami 2013). The implementation

of successive structural adjustment programs which resulted in numerous layoffs in the public

sector and the mining sector policy reforms, made smallholder agriculture in many areas of the

country unviable (Banchirigah 2008). This marked the turning point and rise of illegal small-

scale popularly known as ‘galamsey’ in local parlance. Galamsey, derived from the phrase

“gather them and sell,” is a local Ghanaian parlance which refers to the unregulated and often
illegal extraction of minerals, particularly gold, by individuals or small groups often conducted

without proper permits, in violation of mining regulations and environmental laws (Ghana

Chamber of Mines, 2019). The topic of galamsey is politically sensitive in Ghana where the

practice accounts for an estimated 60% of the country’s total mining labor force and supports

millions of livelihoods. On a national scale, the practice of galamsey translates into substantial

financial losses and diminished export potential. Specifically, in 2016, the government of Ghana

incurred an approximate loss of $2.3 billion in fiscal revenues due to illegal mining (Liege,

2021). Though it provides employment and livelihoods for many communities, it is also

associated with a lot of negative impacts. Human lives have been lost through abandoned pits.

Many children have lost their lives by accidentally falling into pits in communities where illegal

mining is practiced (Amankwah, 2013). Similarly, a catastrophic event occurred at Dunkwa-on-

Offin in the Central Region of Ghana on 27 June 2010, where over 100 people got buried in a

mining pit (Aboka et al., 2018).

This research paper endeavors to untangle the multifaceted dynamics surrounding the

detrimental impact of Chinese involvement in galamsey on critical infrastructures, specifically

agricultural lands and water bodies, shedding light on the intricate web of circumstances

contributing to environmental degradation. In light of these considerations, the central question

guiding this research is: How are Chinese activities in illegal small-scale mining (galamsey)

impacting the environment?

The selection of Bioenvironmentalist as an environmental politics theoretical approach

for this paper is deliberate and strategic. The Bioenvironmentalists perspective, inspired by the

laws of physical science, underscores the fragile nature of the Earth's ecosystems and the need

to respect the planet's biophysical limits (Clapp & Dauvergne, 2011). Applying this lens to
galamsey will help understand how the unregulated extraction of minerals contributes to

overexploitation of natural resources. Galamsey activities have led to widespread environmental

degradation, notably water pollution, and also compromising agricultural productivity, whereby,

its implications have cause loss of livelihoods for local communities.

Arguments

Contrary to the popular narrative concerning the Chinese presence in Africa as being

monolithic, it is far more complicated than that. Indeed, Chinese investments in Africa are being

led by state-owned companies, private Chinese, diaspora Chinese, and African Chinese

businesses (Oshodi 2015, p. 193). However, Haglund (2008, p. 557) points out that at a time

when most multinationals operating in Africa are private, large Chinese investors in strategic

sectors such as energy, mining, and construction are frequently state-owned. However, in Ghana,

due to state weakness, the overwhelming number of Chinese involvement in galamsey is led by

private Chinese citizens exercising their own agency beyond the purview of the Chinese state.

They often operate in small groups after pulling financial resources together from their

homeland. The Chinese dominate the supply chain of illegal small-scale mining with their

financial, technical, managerial acumen, the sale and transfer of gold proceeds, and political

patronage (Antwi-Boateng & Akudugu, 2020).

Systemic institutional corruption in the regulation of mining in Ghana remains a major

source of attraction for Chinese involvement in galamsey as it facilitates easy entry into a

lucrative sector from which they are legally prohibited. For example, whereas Ghanaian law

prohibits foreigners from mining plots smaller than twenty-five acres, many Chinese galamsey

miners reach informal deals with local landowners with the former mining the plot and sharing

the proceeds with the latter (Leudi 2019). In addition, institutional corruption enables the
Chinese to illegally come into Ghana after often bribing immigration officials to extend their stay

without declaring their intentions. Entry to the galamsey business is further made easier by the

availability of willing Ghanaians who are eager to assist the Chinese to get land for mining as

well as labor for a fee. Another major attraction is the relatively low capital outlay required for a

galamsey start-up (Antwi-Boateng & Akudugu, 2020). Indeed, it is easier for Chinese miners to

set up galamsey operations than Ghanaians even though the law outright prohibits foreigners

from engaging in small-scale mining. This is because the relevant regulatory bodies and law

enforcement agencies prefer to deal with the Chinese miners who are generally viewed by

corrupt Ghanaian officials as the highest bidders compared to their Ghanaian counterparts.

The galamsey phenomenon has been attributed to a complete lack of political will, in a

sense that the people who have the responsibility to curb illegal mining activities tend to benefit

from them. The chiefs, the Assemblies, some Members of Parliament and Ministers, are all

culpable (Abdulai, 2017). One of the hallmarks of a weak state is institutional weakness and

corruption. According to Antwi-Boateng & Akudugu (2020), both the Failed States Index and

Transparency International rank Ghana as a weak state and one of the most corrupt in the world,

respectively (Transparency International 2018). In the case of Ghana, the country does not lack

institutions, but rather these institutions have been compromised by corrupt and rent-seeking

elites who abuse these institutions for selfish gains. Officially, Ghana has a robust legal and

institutional framework capable of regulating its mining sector, but these laws and institutions

have been rendered ineffective through official corruption. This reality serves as a major

attraction to fortune seeking Chinese who are willing to exploit the institutional weaknesses and

pervasive corruption of the system to their advantage. Many of these Chinese miners, who are in

Ghana illegally, break local laws and disrespect the norms, beliefs, and culture of local people.
They believe the laws of Ghana do not work and they are at liberty to do anything and get away

with it as long as they are ready to pay corrupt public officials. Botchwey et al. (2018), assert

that, there have been instances where Chinese miners in one area would visit the police station to

turn themselves in, monthly, for breaking the law, and then pay the fine for their transgression as

part of a recurring corrupt deal between the lawbreakers and law enforcement. The fines serve as

protection money rather than as a form of punishment for breaking the law. This lends credence

to the level of weakness of state institutions in enforcing the laws and punishing wrongdoing.

Infrastructure Challenges