The good in evil: a discourse analysis of the galamsey industry in Ghana

Galamsey, a low-tech, labour-intensive, small-scale mining activity in Ghana, has recently come under intense criticism and state policing despite being an important livelihood source. Based on empirical research, this paper uses discourse analysis to re-examine galamsey politics in Ghana, focusing on why people are engaged in galamsey despite attempts to curtail it. Findings suggest that for most individuals and communities, poverty, displacement from agricultural lands and unemployment explain their initial entry into the industry. However, the legal, regulatory and policing regimes, together with complex, ambivalent relationships between government, large-scale mining companies, traditional authorities and galamsey operators, all help to perpetuate galamsey. These findings provide a counter-narrative to the dominant discourse of opportunism and demonisation which often characterises public discussions on Ghana’s galamsey industry. Rather than the combative approach taken by the state towards the galamsey phenomenon, urgent legislative and policy reforms are needed in order to streamline the licensing regime and address the drivers of galamsey.