Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has taken a swipe at the New Patriotic Party (NPP), accusing it of being the root cause of the country’s illegal mining (galamsey) crisis.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr. Gbande said the NPP has no moral authority to promise solutions to a problem it “actively created and sustained” while in power.
“There is no excuse that these problems will be tackled, but let the NPP give us a break because they are the ones who brought us here,” he stated bluntly.
According to him, individuals within the NPP’s own setup, including officials in the Jubilee House, had been complicit in illegal mining activities, undermining the fight against galamsey from within.
“Today, who can confidently point out those in the Jubilee House who are engaged in galamsey? Collectively, there has been serious demobilisation of institutions protecting our forest reserves by people, whether political or apolitical, who are involved in this,” he lamented.
The Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency, however, commended the recent national dialogue on illegal mining, describing it as persuasive and a step in the right direction.
He noted that discussions from the forum outlined a new framework for imposing stiffer, politically neutral punishments for offenders who continue to destroy the country’s water bodies and forest reserves.
“The dialogue told us of a framework to enhance punishment that will not be politically biased against persons who are unrepentant and determined to destroy our natural resources, irrespective of who they are, and for me, that is persuasive enough,” he added.
Mr. Gbande further explained that the fight against illegal mining should not be treated as warfare but as a carefully coordinated national effort to distinguish legitimate small-scale mining from illegal operations.
He revealed that regional ministers, municipal, and district executives had recently been sensitised on how to coordinate strategies in tackling the menace more effectively.
“The whole of last week, our regional ministers, DCEs, and MCEs were sensitised on how to approach the issue to ensure a unified and successful fight against illegal mining,” he said.
Mr. Gbande’s comments come amid renewed public debate over the government’s handling of illegal mining, which continues to threaten Ghana’s forests, water bodies, and farmlands.
Source: Gertrude Otchere
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