Ghana to allocate GH¢400m for galamsey land reclamation in 2027 Budget

Ghana's 2027 Budget will allocate GH¢400 million for the reclamation of lands destroyed by galamsey, the country's illegal small-scale gold mining sector, President John Mahama announced.

The allocation, disclosed by the president in an address reported by MyJoyOnline, covers three spending lines: remediation of degraded mining land, operations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Blue Water Guards, the unit tasked with protecting the country's water bodies from mining pollution.

What does the money buy?

The GH¢400 million figure represents the first consolidated budget line to pair land restoration with enforcement capacity. Reclamation of galamsey-damaged land covers backfilling pits, stabilising soil and revegetating sites abandoned by illegal operators. The same envelope funds the EPA, the regulator responsible for environmental compliance, and the Blue Water Guards, the body formed to patrol rivers affected by mining runoff.

President Mahama framed the allocation as part of the state's response to years of unregulated gold mining. Galamsey has left degraded land and contaminated watercourses across multiple regions, and the 2027 Budget marks the first time this scale of dedicated funding has been attached to restoration and water protection in a single package, according to the announcement.

Why does enforcement funding matter?

Allocating money to the EPA and the Blue Water Guards within the same envelope as reclamation signals that Accra views restoration and enforcement as linked. Reclamation without enforcement risks newly restored sites returning to illegal use. The Blue Water Guards' inclusion points to water bodies as a priority front, since mining sediment and mercury use have affected rivers that supply treatment plants and downstream communities.

The announcement came from the president himself rather than the finance ministry, which places the political weight of the office behind the figure. The 2027 Budget will serve as the formal vehicle for the disbursement.

What happens next?

The milestone to track is parliamentary passage of the 2027 Budget, which will confirm the GH¢400 million allocation and set the disbursement schedule across the EPA, the Blue Water Guards and the reclamation programme. Until the budget is approved, the figure remains a presidential commitment rather than enacted spending.