It’s been 24 months; leave Akufo-Addo out of galamsey talk – Miracles Aboagye

According to Miracles Aboagye, it has been 24 months since the Mahama government took over power, insisting that the party can no longer blame Akufo-Addo for the worsening galamsey situation.

Miracles Aboagye argued that the Mahama administration’s handling of illegal mining is a failure to fulfil its campaign promises, arguing that its performance so far had fallen short of expectations.

He further fumed at attempts to bring the former President into discussions about the current state of illegal mining.

 Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 31, Miracles Aboagye stated, “This is the evidence of how spectacular this NDC government has failed the people of this country on the back of their own promises and words”.

“One of the things I hate, and it pisses me off when it comes to the galamsey conversation, is when anybody tries to bring Akufo-Addo into it. Stop. Don’t do it. Take him out. It’s been 24 months,” he said.

Miracles Aboagye added, “He was vilified; called names. He was described in all manner of ways because of galamsey. For the first time in the history of this country, a political party and its allies staged demonstrations for a week non-stop on the streets of Accra”.

He recounted that the NDC had shifted from presenting illegal mining as a collective national challenge to placing responsibility squarely on the former President.

“We are beating about the bush and making it look like this galamsey conversation we are having is some Ghana problem and some citizens’ conversation. No, it’s not,” he said.

“So, the people are clear in their minds that, unlike the NPP and the Akufo-Addo administration, which considered galamsey a national problem, the NDC believes it is a government problem and that once it assumes office, galamsey will end,” he said.

Miracles Aboagye further accused the NPP of having a history of enabling illegal mining in Ghana.

“The NDC has always been an enabler of galamsey in this country since 2009. They have always been. Their history is there. Their records are there. Their facts are there,” he stated.

“The galamsey situation always worsens when the NDC comes to power. That is a fact. And the government that has never been able to show any proof of properly fighting galamsey is always the NDC,” he claimed.

“Let nobody pretend and be hypocritical. This government hasn’t done even 50% of what the Akufo-Addo government did in the fight against galamsey,” he said.

Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that his government has achieved some successes in the fight against illegal mining commonly known as galamsey.

Mahama disclosed that  135 excavators and nearly 200 firearms have been seized as part of efforts to combat illegal mining.

According to John Mahama, over 8,200 items, including changfan machines, excavators and other equipment used in illegal mining, had also been seized.

Speaking at the Mining in Motion Conference on Monday, October 19, President Mahama stated, “We have achieved some successes in the fight against illegal mining. We have confiscated more than 8,200 items. This includes changfan machines, excavators and other equipment used in illegal mining”.

“We’ve confiscated 135 excavators that were being used in illegal mining, and we have retrieved almost 200 firearms that the people involved in illegal mining had,” he added.

President Mahama further revealed that illegal miners had encroached on 48 of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves, with some areas designated as red zones.

He stated, “I’m happy to note that of those nine red zones, we have cleared all of them of illegal miners and are currently preparing those forest reserves for reclamation”.

Mahama disclosed that illegal mining had destroyed approximately 12,000 acres of land across the country, revealing that efforts are underway to reclaim degraded areas.