The National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is appealing to Ghanaians not to limit the fight against illegal mining, also known as galamsey, to missing excavators.
Sammy Awuku maintained that, the brouhaha over the excavators does not constitute the total failure of the fight against galamsey by the Akufo-Addo administration.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Tuesday, the NPP man said the police should be given the needed support to find out where the excavators are and how they went missing rather than politicising the issue.
Mr Awuku questioned the origin of the supposed missing 500 excavators when in fact no Minister had confirmed it.
He opined that, the opposition National Democratic Congress put out the figure to humiliate government due to the feat it had chalked in the galamsey fight.
Mr Awuku said the government had made giant strides in the fight against illegal mining through the policies and strategies implemented by the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Illegal Mining.
Also, he said the alternative livelihood programmes introduced in districts in 10 regions affected by illegal mining has ensured the beneficiaries are no longer doing galamsey.
He said aside this, the committee had built the capacity of regulatory agencies and inculcated the use of technology to support mining activities and to monitor illegal mining activities.
Mr Awuku said what the government needed is the support of the citizenry, especially those in mining areas to enable the State win the galamsey fight.
Source: Adomonline.com | Adwoa Gyasiwaa Agyeman
