Sang N.

This is what Ghana is doing to fix its Mining Sector

On the sidelines of the 4th China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in China, this past June, two Malawian ministers in Lazarus Chakwera’s government had a minor squabble.

One of the ministers, Ken Zikhale Ng’oma, who is the Minister of Mining, was scheduled to meet officials from Hunan Sunwalk Technology Group the next day (June 16th), to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which it was alleged would strengthen bilateral cooperation in the mining sector. He wanted another minister, the firebrand that is the Minister of Trade Vitumbiko Mumba, who was also on the trip, to join Zikhale’s delegation to Changsha, where Hunan Sunwalk is based, perhaps to add legitimacy to the transaction. But Mumba declined.

According to comments he has made, Mumba said he only learned about the trip to meet Hunan Sunwalk the day before, so was not sufficiently informed, nor cleared by the legal heads of the government and his ministry’s procedural machinery to be able to join Zikhale Ng’oma and his delegation. In other words, there were questions as to whether this MoU signing ceremony had followed the right procedures.

And then something else happened. Or didn’t happen, in that the details of the MoU were not released to the public. And no explanation seems to have been given.

Someone, was either being disingenuous, or not fully candid with what was really going on. And yet Zikhale Ng’oma claimed that they had followed the right procedures?!

Once fired by Bingu Wa Mutharika, Ken Zikhale Ng’oma is a controversial figure in Malawian Politics, and his name keeps popping up in murky government deals. Zikhale Ng’oma was once arrested on charges of trespassing, after he tried to personally evict his former employee from a Malawi House Corporation (MHC) house. He’s a combative figure and has been accused of using the police to intimidate critics. Last August, a group of concerned Malawians going by the name of the ZATIKWANA Campaign, petitioned President Lazarus Chakwera to fire him (he was the Minister of Homeland Security at the time), citing incompetence.

At the time, Malawi’s immigration services was experiencing quite a number of challenges including severe delays in passport issuance stemming from a cyber-attack that compromised the e-passport system earlier in the year. There were massive backlogs of applications forcing citizens to queue overnight, inefficiencies in service delivery across regional offices, allegations of corruption, and misinformation about system restoration.

Zikhale Ng’oma recently dismissed a report by the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which predicted that Chakwera would find it hard to be re-elected because of the numerous challenges facing Malawi, including food and fuel shortages, low foreign exchange reserves, corruption and unemployment. The EIU operates in a domain similar to economic forecasting and has been recognized as one of the most accurate forecasters relative to peers operating in the space.

Why is all this relevant?

The mining sector in Malawi continues to grapple with significant challenges, including rampant illegal mining and smuggling of minerals like gold and gemstones, which deprive the country of vital revenue and contribute to environmental degradation such as deforestation and river siltation.

These issues are exacerbated by practices like tax evasion through under-declaration of export quantities and illicit financial flows, often linked to informal and unregulated artisanal operations that also involve child labor and dangerous working conditions.

Ken Zikhale Ng’oma was appointed as Minister of Mining in early January 2025, replacing Monica Chang’anamuno. He has now held the position for seven months as of August 2025. And under his leadership the ministry has implemented measures such as freezing mineral exports in early 2025 to conduct a comprehensive audit aimed at curbing smuggling. He has also emphasized youth involvement and optimism for economic revival through mining reforms. But deep-seated problems like illegal mining persist. And not enough has been done to deal with the issues facing the sector. At least nowhere near as much as could be done.

So, you have to wonder why Lazarus Chakwera is keeping him in his position, and why Chakwera isn’t leading greater efforts to fix our country’s mining sector?

The Ghana example.

In contrast, President John Mahama of Ghana has taken firm steps to curb the practice of illegal mining, also known as “galamsey,” in the country. He has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ending mining activities in Ghana’s forest reserves by unveiling a set of reforms. One of the key measures is amending the Minerals and Mining Act, 2003 (Act 703) to permanently outlaw mining operations in protected areas.

Key Reforms

  • Amendment to Minerals and Mining Act: Mahama plans to amend Act 703 to completely prohibit mining in forest reserves, effectively banning mining in these areas.
  • Repeal of L.I. 2462: The President has proposed amending the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation, L.I. 2462, to remove the president’s power to approve mining in forest reserves. However, some civil society organizations argue that L.I. 2462 should be repealed altogether to eliminate ambiguity regarding mining rights.
  • Joint Task Forces: Mahama’s administration has established joint task forces comprising the military, police, and forestry officials to arrest and seize mining equipment, as well as reclaim degraded lands (It aligns more with the re-activated Galamsey Enforcement Task Force under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.).
  • Inaugurated GoldBod Task Force: GoldBod, officially known as the Ghana Gold Board, is a newly established government entity under the Goldbod Act, 2025 (Act 1140), with exclusive rights to purchase and export all gold produced in Ghana except that from large-scale mining firms. Its primary purpose is to assert national sovereignty over Ghana’s mineral wealth, combat illegal gold trading and smuggling, shift the sector from raw extraction to value addition, and ensure greater revenue recovery, transparency, and accountability for the benefit of the state and citizens. The Task force is a strategic enforcement arm designed to dismantle smuggling networks, address illegal small-scale mining (the ‘galamsey’ referred to above), and enforce the board’s mandate through measures like real-time GPS tracking of vehicles, body cameras on officers, required warrants for operations, and a 10% reward for whistleblowers leading to arrests or gold recovery. Violations under the act, such as unlicensed gold trading or smuggling, carry penalties including fines up to GHS 2.4 million, imprisonment for 5 to 10 years, or both, with strict sanctions for any task force members who abuse their authority. The task force reflects the government’s commitment to safeguarding resources and promoting responsible sourcing, with operations set to begin shortly after the inauguration.

The President’s efforts have shown some positive results, with seven out of nine forest reserves previously overrun by illegal miners reclaimed. Note that the Joint Task Forces—such as the Galamsey Enforcement Task Force—comprise the Ghana Armed Forces, Police Service, Minerals Commission, Forestry Commission, and NADMO, has a direct mandate to shut down illegal mining sites, arrest miners, seize equipment, and reclaim degraded lands under a 2024 legal framework. It is separate from the GoldBod Taskforce.

It will be interesting to see successive administration’s long-term commitment to the cause, particularly with regards to the repeal of L.I. 2462. In 2022 alone, Ghana lost over 100,000 hectares of forest cover, with mining cited as a major driver, highlighting the need for continued action.

Malawi faces a similar challenge, but not only because of mining, but also because of the charcoal trade.

So, as you can see, President Mahama’s administration has shown what addressing issues like illegal mining in Ghana demands. Obviously, sustained efforts will be necessary to translate promises beyond the actions that have already been taken into policy and protect the country’s natural resources. But, you can clearly see the difference between what we are doing in Malawi, and what Ghana is doing.

So, to conclude I think Malawi can learn a lot from Ghana’s approach. And that begins with having competent people in positions of authority. Not just in one ministry or function, but across the board.

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