Declaring state of emergency in galamsey could endanger our democracy – Asiedu Nketiah

• Posted on August 27, 2025August 27, 2025
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has rejected calls for a state of emergency in the fight against illegal mining.

He warns that such a move could plunge Ghana into chaos and erode democratic rule.

Speaking on Channel One TV on Tuesday, August 26, Mr. Nketiah admitted that galamsey remains a national crisis but cautioned that suspending constitutional governance in the name of tackling it would create deeper dangers.

“Work is being done about the galamsey fight, and we hope to be able to find solutions to it. But I don’t subscribe to the declaration of the state of emergency as other people are suggesting.

“In your frustration, you can call for certain measures that, when we begin implementing, you may live to regret,” he warned.

He explained that many advocates of emergency rule underestimate its destructive consequences.

“If you intend to deal with galamsey and you declare a state of emergency, it means you have suspended the constitution. People can shoot and kill at will. 

“How will you be sure that those who are shooting and killing are the ones fighting galamsey? That is another matter,” he argued.

I’m Instead, the NDC Chairman urged Ghanaians to push for practical and sustainable solutions rooted in the rule of law, insisting that broad-based reforms, not authoritarian shortcuts, hold the key to ending illegal mining.