Military Deployment Alone Won’t End Galamsey – Dr. Adutwum

New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential aspirant, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has stressed that tackling youth unemployment is key to ending illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show, the Education Minister said relying solely on military operations will not permanently address the challenge.

“If we don’t deal with the root cause, we will always prescribe wrong solutions. The root cause is unemployment,” Dr. Adutwum argued.

He noted that a significant number of youth involved in galamsey are school dropouts, often exiting the education system after junior high school.

“Many of these young people leave school after junior high. We need to get them into senior high schools, TVET, or vocational training to cut the pathway to galamsey,” he explained.

Dr. Adutwum recommended the establishment of counseling centres to guide young people toward productive careers and the creation of blue-collar job opportunities in mining communities.

“Ending galamsey is not just about deploying the military. There has to be a conscious effort to take the youth out of the galamsey pipeline,” he emphasised.

His remarks come amid renewed debate over how best to combat illegal mining, which continues to devastate Ghana’s farmlands, rivers, and forests despite multiple government crackdowns.