Private legal practitioner and member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwasi Kwarteng, has accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of worsening the illegal mining menace, popularly known as galamsey.
He noted that the NDC has decentralised the practice, making it more devastating and damaging than before.
In a one-on-one interview on Angel TV on May 11, 2026, Mr. Kwarteng said the NDC has failed to take decisive action against illegal mining despite earlier criticism and promises.
“I don’t blame them; it is what it is. Things have changed recently because the fact is that Ghanaians hold the NPP to higher standards than the NDC. So whatever Akufo-Addo would not be pardoned for, when Mahama does the same thing, he would be pardoned.
“Mahama also promised that he would arrest NPP kingpins involved in the practice, yet no arrests have been made. Which kingpin have they been able to arrest?” he asked the host, Ohemaa Sakyiwaa.
Mr. Kwarteng further argued that while galamsey under the NPP was alleged to be linked at the top level, the NDC has spread the practice across all levels.
“Today, the difference between galamsey under the NPP and galamsey under the NDC is that they claimed the practice within the NPP administration was at the top level. But in the NDC’s case, you can see that they have decentralized the practice, whether top-down or everywhere, and made it even worse now,” he said.
In his view, the only thing the NDC has been able to do when it comes to the galamsey conversation is to “manage the media space very well.”
