Assessing shortcomings of Ghana’s anti-illegal mining reforms and drawing policy alternatives from Peru’s Operation Mercury

Over the past years, Ghana has implemented multiple reforms and interventions to curb illegal mining and mitigate its devastating environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Nonetheless, illegal mining activities have become more pronounced. This disconnect between policy implementation and the resulting outcomes necessitated this study as a way to address the core policy issues and strengthen Ghana’s reforms. As such, this article adopted Andersson et al.’s (2023) policy diagnosis framework to (1) evaluate shortcomings of Ghana’s mining reforms from 2017 to 2024 and (2) critically identify possible policy alternatives to deal with illegal mining. We drew on Peru’s Operation Mercury program—a multifaceted policy response aimed at tackling the root causes of illegal mining and offering alternative livelihoods—as a potential model program for Ghana. The study involved a qualitative methodology that incorporated analysis of project implementation reports, review of existing literature, and key informant interviews to understand the limited impact made by Ghana’s reforms, focusing on the period from 2017 to 2024. The study revealed that challenges such as the inadequacy of central government-led reforms, ineffectiveness of punitive measures and alternative livelihood programs, and inconsistency in the application of mining sanctions, among others, have hindered the effectiveness of Ghana’s reforms. Drawing from Peru’s experience, the article recommends policy alternatives including the combined use of punishments, incentives, and social capital; a multistakeholder implementation approach; deployment of technology; and demonstration of strong political leadership as ways to address the lapses in Ghana’s reforms.