{"id":231075,"date":"2024-10-13T06:34:39","date_gmt":"2024-10-13T06:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/10\/13\/i-stand-by-my-words-utag-president-defends-calling-ghanas-president-a-big-joker\/"},"modified":"2024-10-13T06:34:39","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T06:34:39","slug":"i-stand-by-my-words-utag-president-defends-calling-ghanas-president-a-big-joker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/10\/13\/i-stand-by-my-words-utag-president-defends-calling-ghanas-president-a-big-joker\/","title":{"rendered":"I Stand by my words \u2014 UTAG President defends calling Ghana&#8217;s President a big joker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<header><!--$!--><template data-dgst=\"DYNAMIC_SERVER_USAGE\"\/><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<h2>I Stand by my words \u2014 UTAG President defends calling Ghana&#8217;s President a big joker<\/h2>\n<p class=\"Detail_info__sQmUB\"><span>News Hub Creator<\/span><span>6h<\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"Detail_render__N0U44\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/79f21816cc4a4493834ee34731919246\"\/>Professor Eric Abavare, the President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), recently defended his controversial statement referring to President Nana Akufo-Addo as a &#8220;big joker.&#8221; Prof. Abavare, in an interview, reiterated his stance, expressing dissatisfaction with the President&#8217;s handling of the illegal mining issue. He remarked, &#8220;I stand by my words. Describing the president as a &#8216;big joker&#8217; is justified, given his failure. He must understand the gravity of his actions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to Onua online, The professor\u2019s sharp criticism stems from what he perceives as the government\u2019s failure to take strong and effective measures to combat illegal mining. Galamsey has been a persistent problem in Ghana, causing environmental degradation and posing a serious threat to water bodies and farmlands. According to Prof. Abavare, the government&#8217;s response to this issue has been lackluster and marked by indecision.<\/p>\n<p>Drawing a comparison to the swift measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, where President Akufo-Addo implemented strict lockdowns and deployed security forces to enforce them, Prof. Abavare suggested that similar urgency is needed in tackling the illegal mining problem. He argued that the government should consider more direct interventions, including banning the importation of certain mining equipment, which could hinder illegal mining operations. &#8220;The President should ban the importation of earth-moving equipment and changfans if he is serious about addressing galamsey,&#8221; Abavare asserted.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cc3ddd0d2f6443d5ac3c9b3290504126\"\/><\/p>\n<p>This statement comes at a time when UTAG has declared a strike, partly motivated by a demand for decisive government action on illegal mining. Prof. Abavare explained that the strike aims to press the government into taking concrete steps to combat the galamsey menace. His remarks reflect a growing frustration among stakeholders and the general public over the lack of effective measures to curb the illegal mining industry.<\/p>\n<p>Click here to watch the video<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I Stand by my words \u2014 UTAG President defends calling Ghana&#8217;s President a big joker News Hub Creator6h Professor Eric Abavare, the President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), recently defended his controversial statement referring to President Nana Akufo-Addo as a &#8220;big joker.&#8221; Prof. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":231076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-231075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - 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