Ghana stands on the brink of becoming a failed state, warns Selorm Branttie, Vice President in charge of Strategy and Communication at policy think-tank IMANI Africa.
In a powerful message shared on his social media, Branttie highlights how illegal small-scale mining, known as “galamsey,” is rapidly eroding the country’s stability.
Despite military intervention over the past nine years, the galamsey menace continues to grow, with mining operators becoming more violent, now armed with pump-action shotguns to defend their operations.
According to Branttie, Ghana risks following the paths of Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and narco-states like Mexico, where criminal cartels wield more power than state institutions.
Branttie argues that the failure of the military and police to eliminate galamsey reflects deeper systemic issues. Galamsey, fueled by easy profits, is drawing in jobless youth from rural areas, who are increasingly willing to defend their turf against state forces.
With politicians, traditional leaders, and even sections of the military alleged to be complicit, the problem has escalated into a national crisis. “The moment you throw a national problem at the military and police, but it does not get solved immediately, you have prepared a cocktail of chaos,” he warns.
As the illegal mining industry is controlled by powerful kingpins, political appointees, and local thugs, territorial disputes over gold-rich land are inevitable. Branttie fears that as gold deposits become harder to locate, rival gangs will fight over access, leading to violent confrontations.
“Richer and bigger gangs will swallow smaller gangs,” he explains, adding that the military may eventually find itself in the crossfire, with some officers likely to join one side or another for personal gain. This, he says, would pave the way for a highly militarized galamsey industry, operating beyond the state’s control.
The corruption, Branttie claims, runs deep within the state apparatus. Politicians have openly expressed fear of losing votes if they crack down on galamsey. As a result, many choose to turn a blind eye to the destruction caused by illegal mining, including the irreversible pollution of Ghana’s rivers.
The judiciary, too, may not be immune to the influence of galamsey kingpins, he suggests, warning that the state is fast losing its ability to enforce the law.
Recent revelations that the Ghana Army’s industrial arm, DIHOC, has been granted gold mining concessions further blur the line between state and illegal enterprise. Branttie raises concerns about the military’s ability to maintain impartiality in the fight against galamsey, asking: “what moral right will they have blocking others from doing the same?”
This, he argues, is a dangerous precedent that could see the military becoming a participant in the illegal mining trade, rather than its regulator.
Branttie’s message is clear: if Ghana does not act swiftly, the nation could be consumed by lawlessness, where gang violence escalates, corrupt security services are bought off, and the very fabric of society is torn apart.
With water sources polluted, crops destroyed, and livelihoods shattered, Ghanaian youth, manipulated today for political gain, will inherit a nation where survival is a luxury. “Their kids don’t live in Ghana,” he laments, referring to the elites benefitting from the chaos, while ordinary citizens are left to suffer the devastating consequences.
