The Fix the Country movement has urged President John Dramani Mahama to immediately declare a state of emergency to confront the escalating menace of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The group, currently holding a vigil at Revolution Square in Accra, argued that the scale of destruction caused to Ghana’s water bodies, farmlands, and environment has reached crisis levels that require extraordinary constitutional measures.
Edward Tuttor, Convenor of the Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana, one of the groups under the Fix the Country banner, accused the president of backtracking on promises to protect the nation’s resources.
“You came to power because of the people, and that is why the constitution is clear that sovereignty lies in the people of Ghana, in whose name the powers of the president shall be exercised. Mr. President, you are backtracking. You are our president, but with the trajectory that you are moving towards, the truth must be said—you are not caring for the people of Ghana,” Mr. Tuttor told demonstrators.
The movement insists that failure to declare a state of emergency would amount to reneging on a core commitment made to Ghanaians, stressing that the galamsey crisis is now an existential threat to food security, public health, and the country’s future.