Research on Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN (Paper)2224-5766 ISSN (Online)2225-0484 (Online) Vol.4, No.16, 2014 www.iiste.org 47 Galamsey and the Making of a Deep State in Ghana: Implications for National Security and Development Ishaq Akmey Alhassan Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon Email of corresponding author: akmey2003@yahoo.co.uk Abstract Illegal small scale mining is commonplace in Ghana. It easily attracts farmers and other artisans/traders because it is lucrative, despite its associated life-threatening dangers. Its potential threats to Ghana’s future and implications on national security and development in, particularly, affected districts and communities cannot be overlooked. This paper argues that illegal mining of all kind is a threat to the security of mining communities and the nation in general. Using the deep state theory, it analyses how illegal ASM can collapse security systems and governance machinery in order to co-opt individuals and groups to their favour and perpetuate their unlawful trade. It also highlights critical policy and academic issues in the discourse on illegal mining in the Ghanaian society, and the threats illegal mining poses to national security. Keywords: galamsey, deep state, national security, national interest, development, Ghana 1. Introduction Agriculture and mining may well have been the first and second, respectively, of humankind’s earliest endeavours, as the two are considered “the primary or basic industries of early civilization” (Hartman and Mutmansky, 2002: 1).In the case of mining industry, it has played an important part in human existence since the prehistoric times (Madigan,1981; Hartman and Mutmansky, 2002). For the purposes of this paper, the term mining is broadly understood to be “the extraction of any naturally occurring mineral substances - solid, liquid, and gas - from the earth or other heavenly bodies for utilitarian purposes” (Hartman and Mutmansky, 2002: 1). Mining is indisputably a major economic activity in many African countries that are endowed with mineral resources. It can be traced to several centuries pre-dating the exploration of the African continent by European adventurists and traders during the late fifteenth century (Owusu and Dwomoh, 2012; Adjei et al, 2012). In West Africa, for instance, its existence dates back to the period before the trans-Saharan trade that saw brisk trade in gold and other minerals in different parts of the continent. Expectedly, it became the sole preserve of colonialists and merchant companies during the colonialism period. The availability of mineral resources in some territories earned them (colonial) names such as the Gold Coast, in the case of present-day Ghana, and La Cote d’Ivoire. Ghana’s huge gold deposits are ranked as the ninth in the world (GB&F, 2012) and second on the continent after the Republic of South Africa (Berger, 2008; Airo, 2010; Owusu and Dwomoh, 2012). Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) 1 has in the recent past been a respected traditional vocation in Ghana. For centuries, mining of gold and other metals has been characterised by individual, group or family ownership in local communities before the introduction of foreign large scale operations during and after British colonial rule. The passage of The Small-scale Gold Mining Law, 1989 (P.N.D.C.L. 218)officially legalised the practice and assured Ghanaians of government’s commitment towards re-indigenising the mining sector after decades of foreign control during colonial rule and dominance in the post-independence era.As a result, 300 mining concessions were registered to small scale mining companies in 3 years after the passage of the law (Amankwah & Anim-Sackey, 2003).These hopes were, however, dashed when the implementation of PNDCL 218 was fraught with bureaucratic challenges that made acquisition of licences and mining concessions difficult. These difficulties partly explain why many people are forced to mine illicitly (GB&F, 2012; Hilson and Potter, 2003). This notwithstanding, the small scale mining sub-sector has over the years being contributing significantly to the Ghanaian economy. According to Amankwah and Anim-Sackey (2003: 134-135), By the end of 2003, the small-scale mining sector had sold about 1.5 million ounces of gold and 8.0 million carats of diamonds to PMMC and other licensed precious mineral buying agencies in the country. The contribution of the sector to the gold and diamonds production in the country is significant as shown in Table 1. This sub-sector contributed on the average about 12% and 89% of the total outputs of gold and diamond respectively from 2000 to 2008 (UN, 2010). It was ranked fifth and third in 2011 and 2012 respectively out of the twelve major gold producing entities in the country, as shown in Figure 1 (GCM, 2013). In 2012, for instance, it contributed 10% of the total gold production in the country (GCM, 2013). 1 In this paper, it broadly “refers to mining by individuals, groups, families or cooperatives with minimal or no mechanisation, often in the informal (illegal) sector of the market” (Hentschel et al., 2002). brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals