In a striking critique of the past administration’s handling of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, Benjamin Kofi Quashie, Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Council of Elders in South Africa, has asserted that President John Dramani Mahama has demonstrated greater commitment to fighting galamsey in a few months than former President Nana Akufo-Addo did during his eight-year tenure.
Speaking on JoyPrime’s morning show on Monday, Mr. Quashie condemned the environmental devastation caused by illegal mining, highlighting its dire health implications and the destruction of forest reserves.
Comparing the two leaders, Benjamin Quashie criticized Akufo-Addo for failing to uphold his promise of putting his presidency on the line to combat galamsey.
“President Mahama has shown leadership in this few months than Nana Akufo-Addo did in the eight years that he was president. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was the one who said that he will put his presidency on the line. What happened? When everybody was complaining about the mines? Even before the committee could come up with a report, we had the president saying that Akonta Mines were mining legally. So there’s a difference between these two leaders, one that says and does, and ones that say, for the purposes of saying so.”
He further applauded the work of investigative journalists such as Erastus Asare Donkor, who has been at the forefront of exposing illegal mining operations. He noted that under Mahama’s administration, journalists would be assured of protection, unlike during Akufo-Addo’s era, where journalists like Manasseh Azure had to flee the country due to threats on their lives.
Mr. Quashie called on the current administration to sustain its efforts in reclaiming the country’s forest reserves. He therefore condemned the recent attack on Forestry Commission officers by illegal miners, reiterating that President Mahama’s government is determined to end the culture of impunity.
Addressing concerns about individuals in government engaging in mining, the NDC Chairman reaffirmed that President Mahama had made it clear that no government official should be involved in either illegal or legal mining to avoid conflicts of interest.
“You cannot be in government and engage in mining ventures… We don’t want to encourage that as a party in the NDC. I have stated that if NDC people are engaged in mining, they should be arrested. They should be treated like any other person because you can’t be in NDC and be involved in mining and think that your government is in power so you can destroy the environment for your personal gain.
“I think that the era of you or anybody thinking about their parochial interests. Those era is gone. And I can assure you that we will win the fight collectively and will ensure that we restore our water bodies and our forest reserve to the best condition that that will give the future generation something to be proud of.
He therefore asserted that any person affiliated to the NDC who engages in galamsey should be brought to book.
“We came into power on the back of a manifesto. The good people of Ghana bought into that manifesto. We cannot take the people for granted. We can’t. Because you see, what happens then is that all of us, the people who believe that the NDC will be able to fight this galamsey menace will become a laughing stock and not only a laughing stock, but I am looking at the health ramifications for our people. I’m looking at the way we are destroying Forest reserves. For what? For one person’s gain. For somebody’s parochial interest. The country Ghana is bigger than the NDC party. The country Ghana is bigger than any politician in the NDC party. So if you think that NDC is in power, so you would go on and do illegal mining. I think that the president that we have now is one president who will not say this and do the other.”
He emphasized that the fight against galamsey must be devoid of political affiliations.
“One thing is clear. I have stated it on countless occasions that we shouldn’t do politics with this whole galamsey stuff, because at the end of the day, when our resources are depleted, when our water bodies are polluted, it doesn’t affect NDC, it doesn’t affect NPP. When we were going into the election, like you indicated, we saw one party that had a zeal to clamp down on the surge of galamsey and we saw another party that indicated that party and they didn’t care about them.”
Benjamin Quashie expressed optimism that Ghana will win the fight against galamsey.
With growing calls for stricter measures against illegal mining, the NDC government’s approach to tackling galamsey remains a crucial issue for many Ghanaians, as environmental sustainability continues to be a major national concern.
“The culture of silence and impunity is over,” Chairman of the National Democratic Congress Council of Elders in South Africa maintained, “I can assure you that in the days to come, this menace of galamsey, we would have won the battle not fully, but ensure that we are getting to where President Mahama indicated that we should get to. Galamsey will not be appealing to anybody.”
Source: Newstitbits.com
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