Abstract: Illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana is commonly called galamsey and has expanded rapidly over the last two decades. While it provides short-term income to many households, galamsey imposes severe environmental, health, economic, and social costs on the communities where it occurs. This paper synthesizes recent empirical studies, government and NGO reports, and investigative journalism to analyze the multi-dimensional effects of illegal mining on Ghanaian communities. It includes Ghana-specific case studies (Ankobra, Pra/Birim, and Obuasi), documents human impacts (including child labour, occupational hazards, mercury contamination, and water scarcity),...
Democracy thrives on the promise that political parties, as vehicles of governance, are formed to address societal challenges and advance national development. In Ghana, since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1992, political parties have positioned themselves as problem solvers, presenting manifestos filled with policy prescriptions intended to uplift the economy, enhance social services, and strengthen democratic governance (Gyimah-Boadi, 2009). However, the reality often reveals a paradox: these same parties frequently become the very source of problems they pledged to solve. This irony underscores the contradictions within Ghana’s...
Teaching is often described as the foundation of national development because teachers shape the knowledge, values, and future of society. In Ghana, however, graduate teachers face a paradoxical crisis. The Ghana Teacher Licensure Examination (GTLE), introduced in 2018 by the National Teaching Council (NTC), was designed to standardize teacher quality and align the profession with global best practices (Owusu & Kwakye, 2021). Yet, despite its stated objectives, the exam has increasingly become controversial. A large majority of graduate teachers have passed the Ghana Teacher Licensure Exam (GTLE), but remain...
Ghana’s demographic profile reveals that young people constitute nearly 60% of the population, representing both the nation’s greatest resource and its most pressing challenge. However, persistent unemployment has turned this demographic dividend into a demographic burden. The problem with youth unemployment is often treated as politicking without any genuine effort to address this existential problem. The Ghana Statistical Service (2025) reports that 22.5% of youth aged 15–35 and 32% of youth aged 15–24 are unemployed, a sharp contrast to the national unemployment rate of 14.7%. Such figures underscore a...
In the 21st century, social media has become a central force in global politics, shaping how citizens, governments, and political actors interact. In Ghana, one of Africa’s most stable democracies, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter (X), WhatsApp, and TikTok have become key spaces for political discourse. They provide platforms for information sharing, civic engagement, political mobilisation, and accountability (Osei-Tutu, 2020). At the same time, however, social media poses risks such as misinformation, hate speech, and polarisation. This dual nature raises an important question: how can Ghana maximize...
