A coalition of civil society organisations is calling on the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to clamp down on fuel supplies to illegal mining operations, arguing that cutting off access to diesel is key to tackling galamsey across the country.
The Coalition Against Galamsey, Ghana, in a petition dated April 18, 2026 and addressed to NPA Chief Executive Edudzi Tamakloe Esq., said illegal mining activities continue to thrive largely because of sustained fuel supply chains that power excavators used in degraded forest reserves and water bodies.
“If we are to save our water bodies, forests, and the health of our people from this ecocide, we must cut the supply lines,” the coalition stated.
The group argues that despite government efforts to restrict the importation of excavators, thousands of untracked machines, estimated at 7,000, are still operating in mining areas, largely due to what it describes as unchecked access to fuel.
According to the petition, diesel remains the “lifeblood” of illegal mining activities, and without it, operations would be significantly weakened.
The coalition, led by convenor Kenneth Ashigbey, raised concerns about what it described as an “anomalous density” of fuel stations in galamsey-prone communities, saying some remote mining areas have more fuel stations per capita than major cities like Accra and Tema.
“It is evident that these stations exist primarily to service illegal mining,” the petition said, adding that some Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are not properly enforcing Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for bulk fuel sales.
The group further cited the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended by Act 995, particularly Section 99(2)(b), which it says criminalises those who facilitate illegal mining activities. It warned that individuals found culpable could face up to 25 years in prison.
The coalition is therefore demanding urgent regulatory action from the NPA, including data-driven audits of fuel sales in mining hotspots, revocation of licences of non-compliant OMCs, stricter enforcement of KYC protocols, and closer collaboration with security agencies to track suspicious fuel movements.
It also wants directors of complicit companies prosecuted and stronger scrutiny under environmental protection laws.
“We cannot allow the environment to be murdered for profit,” the group said. “While we support legal, registered small-scale mining, we must starve illegal miners of the one resource they cannot do without — fuel.”
The petition has been copied to President John Mahama, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, and several civil society and media organisations, including A Rocha Ghana, the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, the Ghana Institution of Engineering, and the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).
The coalition insists that targeting fuel supply networks could significantly disrupt illegal mining operations, adding: “If we cut the fuel, we cut the lifeline. If we cut the lifeline, we save Ghana.”
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com