The Upper East Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Ayinbisa, has accused the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of lacking commitment and seriousness in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Speaking in an interview on A1 Radio, Mr. Ayinbisa claimed that the Mahama-led administration has failed to show the political will needed to tackle the menace, describing the government’s approach as weak and uncoordinated compared to that of the previous administration.
“The fight against galamsey has completely lost direction under this administration,” Mr. Ayinbisa said. “Even though President John Dramani Mahama claims to be tackling the issue, his own appointees are deeply involved in the same illegal activities that are destroying our environment.”
He alleged that some District Chief Executives (DCEs) and Members of Parliament (MPs) in the current government are actively engaged in illegal mining or collecting monies from miners in exchange for protection, a situation he said undermines efforts to restore the country’s degraded lands and polluted water bodies.
Mr. Ayinbisa maintained that under the previous NPP government, the fight against galamsey was guided by a “structured and determined” strategy involving enforcement and community sensitization, which led to significant progress.
“Under the NPP, there were clear strategies and enforcement mechanisms to deal with illegal mining, but those decisive actions are completely missing today,” he added.
He called on President Mahama to demonstrate genuine leadership by investigating and sanctioning officials found complicit in galamsey activities.
“If the president truly means to end galamsey, he must start from his own appointees,” Mr. Ayinbisa stated.
Mr. Ayinbisa concluded by urging the government to prioritize environmental protection and transparency in mining governance, warning that failure to act decisively will worsen the country’s ecological and economic challenges.
Source: a1radioonline.com|101.1|Moses Apiah|Bolgatanga
