GHANA- Wednesday, August 5, 2020/– President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has dismissed claims that interference from political leaders and traditional authorities has frustrated the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as Galamsey.
The President admitted that resistance to the fight is inevitable but on the part of his government, the biggest commitment has been made so far, towards ending the menace.
“I do not see any frustration. Problems which are long-standing are not dealt with overnight. What you have to see is whether some things that have been put on the ground have been dealt with. Inevitably you will come across some resistance. Inevitably, there will be a vested interest.
“Some traditional authorities who are deeply involved in the Galamsey effort. They are there and you cannot wish them away. There will be political opponents…For me, all those are givens, I do not see them as elements of frustration. They are matters which are on the ground, and we have to take them into account.”
The Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining which was set up to oversee the implementation of the ban on all forms of small scale mining and the vetting of small scale miners was hit by a bribery scandal which was exposed by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
The investigative piece which led to the subsequent resignation of the committee’s Chairman raised questions about the government’s commitment to ending Galamsey.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other civil society organisations have also described the government’s fight against Galamsey as a failure due to the missing excavators’ saga.
Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamoa had earlier asked for a concerted effort to deal with illegal mining.
His appeal came on the back of the NDC’s accusation that the government had failed to deal with illegal mining.
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I’m Deborah Aba Narkoah. I’m an avid reader, writer and public speaker.
