The New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has been challenged by Dr. Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, convenor of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, to put his policy plan into action to curb unlawful mining activities, or “galamsey,” before the general elections of 2024.
He emphasized that in order to address “galamsey,” Ghanaians cannot wait till after the elections to put the measures listed in the NPP and National Democratic Congress manifestos into action.
Dr. Ing. Ashigbey emphasized the dire repercussions that Ghana will experience if “galamsey” is not reduced to the absolute minimum.
His remarks come after Ghana Water Limited (GWL) declared that galamsey would cause water problems for Cape Coast, Elmina, and the other communities in the Central Region.
In a statement released on Friday, August 30, GWL stated that the catchment area’s pollution has lowered water intake to a very low level, with galamsey causing almost 60% of the catchment capacity to become silted. The Pra River’s pollution has resulted in insufficient raw water intake for the Sekyere Hemang Water Treatment Plant (WTP), according to the firm. This has led to a notable mismatch between supply and demand.
During an appearance on The Point of View on Channel One TV, Dr. Ing. Ashigbey emphasized that governments must recognize the galamsey epidemic and take immediate action to address it.
He denounced lawmakers who engage in illicit mining, pointing to firms such as Akonta Mining and Heritage Imperial that have escaped consequences in spite of multiple appeals.
He claims that politicians have profited greatly from using mining to the disadvantage of the populace.
“When you have a situation, where the state, the leadership does not deal with its own who are involved in it. Or all the big men who imported all of these excavators, then this is where we are going to go. Where then nature will start hitting back at us because it will impose a drought on you.
“At a time when your irresponsibility because you are going into the next election is at its height. And then what you start seeing are these pockets of drought. Already you have a situation where, if you are not careful, your grains are failing.
“So we cannot wait to say that these manifestos that we have seen, we want to wait until after the election before we start implementing them. Whether it’s coming from the current vice President or the ex-president, so, the decision is now.”
If Mahama wins the next general elections on December 7, he has promised to use artificial intelligence to aid in the fight against illicit mining activities.
In addition, if Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia wins the forthcoming elections in December, he has promised to assist small-scale miners.
He declared that a new national small-scale mining management policy would be put into place by his administration.
If elected, Dr. Bawumia pledged to implement a new strategy to stop illicit mining and protect seized machinery, particularly excavators.
