New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Effiduase Asokore and Chairman of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Ayew Afriyie, has stated unequivocally that the government has no intention of banning illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, either today or in the foreseeable future.
His remarks come amid increasing calls from various quarters, including environmental activists and opposition parties, for stronger measures to combat the detrimental effects of galamsey on Ghana’s water bodies and ecosystems.
Speaking at the Bawumia Volunteers 2024 (B24) launch in Kumasi, Dr Afriyie suggested that the NPP government is aware of the potential political ramifications of a ban on illegal mining, particularly regarding its support in mining constituencies.
He asserted that such a ban could lead to significant losses for the party in the upcoming elections, as it would alienate constituents who rely on the mining industry for their livelihoods.
Dr Afriyie further emphasised that the country’s water bodies were previously clean and that the introduction of foreign nationals into the galamsey sector has exacerbated the environmental crisis.
He accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of being complicit in this issue by allegedly importing foreigners to engage in illegal mining, thereby politicizing the problem for their gain.
“The NDC saw that we [NPP] were winning the seats in the mining areas, so they decided to go and import foreigners to engage in illegal mining on our water bodies. The whole water bodies have not been a problem until now, it just started one month ago. It is someone behind that to force the NPP government to stop galamsey so that we will lose the seats. We won’t stop them [Galamseyers] today or tomorrow.”
“Then they take their journalists to talk about it. Is galamsey done in Accra? They should come to Kumasi to demonstrate against galamsey; like they will see,” he said.
