Ghana faces $21bn environmental restoration bill from illegal mining

Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has called for legal reforms to hold officials personally accountable for approving illegal mining permits. Speaking at a colloquium at the University of Education, Winneba, he argued that current institutional designs allow officials to escape liability by treating harmful decisions as state actions rather than personal ones. He proposed that any officer signing permits for protected areas, such as forest reserves or wetlands, should face personal criminal offenses.

Frimpong-Boateng estimated that Ghana requires approximately $21 billion to restore the 10 percent of the country's land surface—roughly 23,853 square kilometers—that has been degraded by illegal mining and other destructive activities. He noted that restoring the Ankobra River alone is estimated to cost $400 million, with additional costs required for other polluted water bodies like the Pra, Offin, and Birim rivers.

Describing illegal mining, or ‘galamsey’, as the largest environmental crime in Ghana's history, he warned that the destruction of forests and water bodies exposes communities to toxic substances including mercury, arsenic, and lead. These pollutants pose severe health risks, such as cancer, kidney failure, and neurological damage.