The Upper East Regional Director of Communication for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Peter Ayinbisa says the Mahama administration has reneged on its pledge to tackle illegal mining because some of its major policies are tied to the illegality.
Speaking on State of Our Nation, Peter Ayinbisa claimed the government’s establishment particularly the Goldbod, which the administration touts as an antidote to the fall of the local currency, is run with proceeds of illegal mining.
“This government is interested in the galamsey money. They are interested in the galamsey gold. So once they are making their money from the wrong sources, they are okay with it.”
He also alleged that leading members of the governing party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), are involved in the menace known locally as galamsey reason the administration has turned a blind eye to it despite the destruction caused to natural resources including water.
“The effort being put in fighting galamsey, it appears that effort is effortless. It is effortless because there is no sincerity. There is no seriousness. There is no commitment in fighting galamsey.”
“And the president just talked about NAIMOS, when your own MPs, your own party gurus are the ones leading, superseding. They are the ones who come and now say that those who were there were NPP people. So leave that side for we, the NDC people, to take over. So how can you fight galamsey with that kind of attitude? So our water bodies are getting highly polluted.”
The National Democratic Congress led by John Dramani Mahama trumpeted the fight against galamsey as one of its promises in the campaign for the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
It had criticized the Akufo-Addo administration’s handling of the menance, accusing the then administration of being complicit in the illegality and promising to tackle it head-on if it won the elections.
Since assuming power, the administration has established a special taskforce, the National Anti-illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), to lead the campaign against the illegal activities.
It also established Bluewater Guards to support the fight.
But critics say the government’s approach is not different from previous ones that failed to yield any positive result.
It has also been accused of buying gold from illegal sources under the Gold Purchase Programme run by Goldbod. President Mahama did not deny this accusation when he was asked by press people at an encounter with the media.
