Unemployment and Galamsey: The Harsh Reality

Dr (Med) Gabriel Asumeng, USA based Ghanaian Medical Practitioner

According to the World Bank, artisanal mining is a source of income for more than 45 million individuals around the world. Everyday, an individual in this dynamic labour force engages in low-tech, physically demanding extraction and processing of minerals from the earth to provide income and livelihood for herself or himself and their families. This at the immediate expense of of exposure to the mercies of the weather, heat, cold, or rain. It is also accompanied by the longterm effects of the exposure to toxic chemicals: mercury, cyanide, arsenic, lead, cadmium, cobalt, and silica dust.

Data shows that in 2020, artisanal mining contributed thirty-five percent (35%) of all the gold processed in Ghana within the year. In 2023, gold accounted for 12.3% of Ghana’s gross domestic product, GDP. This implies that artisanal mining, including galamsey, contributes about 4.3% of the nation’s GPD. If gold from galamsey constitutes 50% of all the gold from artisanal mining, that would imply that galamsey contributes about 2.15% of Ghana’s GPD.

By some estimates, over three million (3,000,000) individuals are involved in galamsey in Ghana. This number includes not only those who are on the field extracting gold from the soil but many individuals along the supply chain. If all 3 million individuals were directly in the fields extracting gold from the soil, that would constitute 6.7% of the population of the country.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) reports that Ghana’s GDP in December 2023 was 331.2 billion GHC as of December 2024. At 4.3% total contribution to Ghana’s GDP, we can estimate that galamsey contributed about GHS 14.24 billion to the nation’s nominal GDP in 2023. This further means that for every person involved in artisanal mining, the total per capita contribution to the nation’s GDP was GHC 4,747.2.

I do not have the numbers regarding the total cost of the equipment and the chemicals that have been invested in the galamsey industry. However, one needs to stop and ask, some uncomfortable questions.

His Excellency President Mahama has been involved in the running of the country at the highest office, both as vice president and president, for almost 9 years. Together with the NPPs 8 years under Nana Addo’s leadership, that is 17 years. This is 17 years that our nation could have spent investing the money, time, and energy that has gone into galamsey in building building a robust and resilient agro-economy in Ghana.

However, we cannot start from yesterday. We can only start from today. Per some estimates, the cost of battling galamsey today stands at about $10,000,000,000.00, ten billion USD. If this is the amount required to battle that criminal activity against our people and our land today, imagine how much more it will cost for every day we dilly dally on this critical national emergency. 

Today is the right day to take the actions that we could have taken yesterday. Today is the right day to take the actions that we will be compelled to take tomorrow. We know that land is a finite resource. While it may seem to be an exaggeration, if we could afford to continue destroying our land with galamsey, we would one day run out of available land for surface mining. I do not need to educate anyone that such a scenario would also imply that the last arable land would be destroyed. I recall the story entitled “The Lorax.”

But used wisely, especially for agriculture, it can remain an endless supply of employment and wealth to our people forever. And by implication an endless supply of food, water, and clear air, the basic ingredients for good health. I am no economist or finance expert, by my untrained mind can imagine how we can make more money from using our land for agriculture than we can make from surface mining. 

“Adidi daa, ye sen adidi preko,” so goes the adage. A quick online search shows that the typical Ghanaian farmer is expected to earn about $80 to $200 per farming season from their harvest. Whereas illegal miners can earn up to $125 per week, which translates to $6,500 per year. With mechanization, the yield from agriculture could increase about 5-fold per acre. Moreover, with mechanization, farmers could till more land, be able to plant in the two rainy seasons, and minimize their loss during growing, harvesting, and post-harvesting periods. When the yearly returns from farming are compounded, the gains from galamsey pales into insignificance.

We need our nations leaders to take a practical look at the galamsey crisis. Declare it a national emergency, while strategizing to absorb those whose livelihoods will be immediately affected into more sustainable sectors of the economy.

STOP! GALAMSEY! NOW!

By Gabriel Asumeng (Kofi-The African).
www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-asumeng
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