Today is Friday, 18th July 2025. It has been over six months since the NDC government led by President John Dramani Mahama took office in January.
And so I ask, with a clear mind and a concerned heart: what has happened to the “Stop Galamsey Now” campaign?
Has galamsey stopped?
Or has it continued, boldly and openly?
Back then, we heard the promises. Loud, firm, and urgent.
A state of emergency was to be declared within one week of taking office, especially in galamsey areas near water bodies. That week came. It passed. Then a month. Now six months have passed.
Where is that emergency?
Where are the results?
Where are the excavators?
Where are the reclaimed lands?
Where are the cleaned rivers?
Where are all the voices that once filled the streets with anger and filled social media with fire?
Or was galamsey only bad when it was happening under the NPP government?
Were the rivers only choking then?
Was the land only bleeding then?
Does the pollution feel different now?
Some of us did not care who was in power. We fought against galamsey not because of politics but because of principle. Because we believe in a Ghana where our children will have clean water to drink, forests to inherit, and land that is not poisoned.
There were those who stood in the sun, raised our voices, and joined hands with others to say “Stop Galamsey Now.”
We are still saying it.
And we will not stop.
Others like myself, were part of the campaign. Not with pickets or placards. But we joined with flyers, with articles, with calls, and with conscience. We used my words because I believed they mattered. We believed the cause mattered more than any political party.
And we still believe that.
We still care about the water our children will drink. The food our soil can grow. The future they deserve.
This is not about who is in power. It is about what is right.
It is about those who will come after us and ask, “Why did they let this happen?”
Mr. President, the nation heard your promises. We still remember them.
But promises do not clean rivers.
Speeches do not rescue forests.
And silence does not restore hope.
We are watching.
Stop Galamsey Now.
Not in another campaign season.
Not when the harm is beyond repair.
Now.
By Victor Raul Puobabangna Plance from Eggu in the Upper West Region of Ghana 🇬🇭
#Puobabangna
