Kwabena Agyepong, a senior campaign advisor to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of deliberately orchestrating the renewed focus on illegal mining, commonly known as “galamsey,” to tarnish the image of the ruling government.
Speaking on The Point of View programme on Channel One TV on Monday, October 7, 2024, Kwabena Agyepong claimed that the recent emphasis on the galamsey menace is politically motivated and aimed at causing public disaffection for the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
According to the prominent member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and former General Secretary of the party, the NDC is intentionally amplifying the illegal mining issue to paint the NPP government in a negative light as the 2024 general elections approach.
He noted that while galamsey remains a significant challenge in Ghana, the NPP government has already made strides in curbing illegal mining activities through a variety of initiatives.
Recently, there has been a renewed call for stronger action against illegal mining, with various stakeholders, including Organised Labour, urging President Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency on the issue.
Organised Labour has even threatened a nationwide strike, scheduled for October 10, 2024, to press for more aggressive action to combat the menace.
However, Agyepong contends that the NDC is using the galamsey issue as a political weapon to divert attention from its own failures on the matter during its time in government.
He argued that if the NDC were truly committed to ending galamsey, the party’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama would have outlined specific policies to deal with the menace as has been done by Dr Bawumia.
“…[If you have genuine concerns] You will not be creating or orchestrating chaos in the country…At that time all the people making noise, were they not in this country? So what has changed? That 60 days to elections, what has changed? In the heat of a campaign.
“We have elections, if it’s a genuine concern, then the proponents of that should have a plan and sit with the two key parties. What is happening is very sad for our country. We don’t do galamsey in Accra if you are serious about it, you’ve to go to the areas and engage with the people.”
In response to the growing pressure from various quarters, the government recently announced plans to revoke the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2462) when Parliament reconvenes.
This move is expected to strengthen the legal framework surrounding mining activities in protected areas. Additionally, the government reiterated its commitment to declaring water bodies and forest reserves as “Red Zones” for mining, with stricter enforcement to eliminate illegal mining operations in these areas.
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