IMANI vice president Bright Simons has in a recent reflection on the state of governance in Ghana, highlighted two critical factors that undermine development efforts in countries like Ghana.
He linked these governance challenges to the galamsey (illegal mining) crisis that has ravaged Ghana, arguing that the country must seize this moment to push for broader governance reforms.
Bright Simons identified adhocracy as one of the primary barriers to development, explaining that while formal policies exist, real action on the ground is often driven by informal arrangements.
“Formal policies may be made but other arrangements on the ground determine everything really happening,” he wrote.
This disconnect between policy and practice makes it difficult for state-driven development to succeed, as the real work is governed by unregulated and often unaccountable practices.
Simons further argued that Ghana’s habit of mimicking rather than properly copying best practices from other countries exacerbates this problem.
“Serious societies copy best practices from elsewhere and then adapt them,” he stated, emphasizing that effective adaptation begins with proper replication.
However, in Ghana, “mimicking instead of copying is what happens,” leading to the failure of imported solutions.
As a result, “learning by doing” – a critical mechanism for development – breaks down.
“You can’t monitor, evaluate, and improve what is NOT happening but you PRETEND is happening,” Simons stressed.
In his analysis, Simons applied these two factors to the galamsey crisis, highlighting how governance failures have allowed illegal mining to flourish.
He cited recent investigations that revealed major gaps in the enforcement of regulations on small-scale mining.
“We have recently sent scouts to look at some licensed concessions at Bibiani, Asankragwa, & Assin Fosu,” Bright Simons revealed.
Shockingly, “NONE of them have things like clinics, etc., as found on the checklist.” Even worse, “None has seen an inspector in weeks.”
Simons shared that when former staff of the Minerals Commission were asked whether they genuinely aimed to enforce the checklist of requirements for legal mining, “they laughed.”
This, he suggested, reflects the broader governance crisis at the heart of the galamsey problem.
Simons emphasized that the galamsey issue is not fixable in isolation.
“The galamsey crisis is, thus, a symptom of a deeper governance crisis,” he stated.
He urged Ghanaians not to “waste” the galamsey crisis but rather to use the public outcry to demand more substantial reforms.
“Now that a policy issue has so thoroughly seized the attention of the whole country, citizens should ride on it to ask for fundamental governance reforms,” he advised.
Bright Simons pointed to Kenya as a country where citizens are leveraging a specific policy crisis – tax increases – to push for broader changes.
He suggested that Ghana could learn from this approach, using the momentum around galamsey to drive systemic improvements.
Read his full piece below;
In a recent essay, I took advantage of my obsession with cashews to discuss two factors that make it difficult for the state in some African countries like Ghana to drive development.
- Formal policies may be made but other arrangements on the ground determine everything really happening. Call this, "adhocracy".
- Serious societies copy best practices from elsewhere and then adapt them, saving resources on experimentation. To adapt well, one must first copy well. Unfortunately, all too often in Ghana, "mimicking" instead of copying is what happens.
The joint effect of these two factors is that "learning by doing", the best path to development, doesn't work as well as it should. You can't monitor, evaluate, and improve what is NOT happening but you PRETEND is happening.
How does this apply to the mining crisis ("galamsey") in Ghana?
- Attached is a checklist of what a LEGAL, licensed, small scale mine in Ghana must have to operate.
- Also attached is how the main site of a legal, licensed, small mine must look.
- We have recently sent scouts to look at some licensed concessions at Bibiani, Asankragwa, & Assin Fosu. NONE of them have things like clinics, etc, as found on the checklist. None has seen an inspector in weeks.
- Former staff of the Minerals Commission laughed when they were asked whether they really aimed to enforce the checklist.
The galamsey crisis is, thus, a symptom of a deeper governance crisis.
Ghana shouldn't "waste" the galamsey crisis, though. Now that a policy issue has so thoroughly seized the attention of the whole country, citizens should ride on it to ask for fundamental governance reforms. Galamsey is not fixable in isolation.
I think Kenyans are doing well in riding the recent tax increase crisis to push for broader changes. (If you still haven't read the cashews piece, click here.
Credit: Abubakar Ibrahim