Dennis Miracles Aboagye, a representative for the campaign of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, has charged the opposition National Democratic Congress with transforming illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, into a pervasive national issue during their time in power.
He asserts that the NDC is historically recognized as the party that not only observed but also actively encouraged the proliferation of illegal mining activities in Ghana.
Galamsey is an 80s, 60s, 70s, ancient pre-colonial activity, but they were not mining in river bodies. The actual river body galamsey that we are seeing today reared its head in 2010/2011. For the entire period that these people that are advocating for somebody to be scapegoated were in power, they couldn’t fight it; they gave up. They lifted their hands in despair. We are the people who have come to inherit this canker from them, and that should be put on record.
Miracles highlighted the importance of removing political bias from the discussion on galamsey, asserting that the NDC did not effectively address the issue during their time in office.
I am one person that has refrained from allowing myself to be drawn into this galamsey conversation on party lines. Whose purpose does it serve? Who wins in this? This galamsey menace, right from 2001, that is where it reared its head under the former president as vice president and former President Mills. Before, while former President Rawlings was in office, we had galamsey.
He asserted that, rather than attributing the current situation of galamsey to the existing government, the administration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP has demonstrated a strong commitment to combating this issue.
It is we rather that are trying to fight a canker introduced by them, and so what should be done right now is to say, what is the government’s effort so far in the fight against this social canker? Why hasn’t it worked.
