Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Former President John Dramani Mahama has told President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that he has the responsibility to resolve the issue of illegal small-scale mining (Galamsey) menace.
Mr Mahama says although he has plans and strategies to resolve the issue, currently President Akufo-Addo has been voted for by the people to address the issue hence he must do it.
“President Akufo-Addo said I should come clearly on galamsey, it looks like he doesn’t live in this country because I have commented on galamsey over and over again. The University of Energy and Natural Resources gave political leaders the top platform to outline their policy on small-scale mining, and for a whole hour I outlined our policy, after that, there were questions and answers for two hours, we were there for three hours
“President Akufo-Addo should tell the Jubilee House press to give him my tape on galamsey which I have delivered at the University of Mines and Natural Resources. Recently when I met the clergymen, a part of my speech was again on galamsey and small-scale mining. It is his responsibility, the people of Ghana elected him, he is currently the president of Ghana, and it is his responsibility to deal with Galamsey now. I know that after 7 January 2025 when Ghanaians have voted for me, I will take that responsibility and we will sport out illegal mining,” he said during his campaign tour in Old Ningo in the Great Accra region on Thursday, October 17.
President Akufo-Addo, while making a recent pronouncement on the illegal small mining (Galamsey) issue during his ‘Thank You Tour’ in the Northeast Region on Tuesday, October 15, asked Former President John Dramani Mahama to declare his stance on galamsey.
“Today, he [Mahama] said that, no, he doesn’t believe in jail, that he’s against galamsey, and he will enforce the law. So once again, we have to ask ourselves, Mr. JM, where do you stand? What are you telling the people of Ghana?
“Because every time you speak, you speak from one corner of your mouth and you speak from another corner of your mouth.” He added “In the last election [2020] in the mining districts of the country, the NPP did very badly largely because the NDC presidential candidate and the party had gone around the mining areas and said that the policy that I was implementing of trying to stop galamsey would be reversed when he comes to power and that those who were already in jail for offences, the galamsey offences, all of them would be amnestied.
“When I said I was putting my presidency on the line, that’s what I meant, that I was prepared to take the political risk involved in trying to deal with this galamsey phenomenon. The result, of course, was that the mining districts, especially in the Western region, all of them, including almost nearly even Tarkwa, were lost to the NPP.
“That is what I meant when I said I’m putting my presidency on the line, that I was prepared to take the political risk involved in coming to grips with this problem.”
Source:
3news.com
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 Former President John Dramani Mahama has told President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that he has the responsibility to resolve the issue of illegal small-scale mining (Galamsey) menace. Mr Mahama says although he has plans and strategies to resolve the issue, currently President Akufo-Addo has been voted for){kind=link}