Daryl Bosu, Deputy National Director of Rocha Ghana, has criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s assertion that his administration’s fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, cost the New Patriotic Party (NPP) several parliamentary seats in the 2020 elections.
Speaking on ABC News GH, Bosu dismissed the President’s claim, calling it “far from the truth.” He argued that the real reason for the NPP’s electoral losses was the unchecked escalation of illegal mining and its destructive impact on Ghana’s environment.
“The reasons they lost the election are because of the escalation of mining, pollution of rivers, and the destruction of forests—not the other way around, as he is making us believe,” Bosu stated.
Bosu admitted that while some strides were made during Akufo-Addo’s administration, the overall response to illegal mining was inadequate.
“What we saw within his regime was that some mining was done properly, but largely it was done improperly, and that’s how come we find ourselves battling with galamsey as we see today,” he said.
He further criticized the administration for failing to protect Ghana’s natural resources.
“If we had done it so well, we wouldn’t have had all our water bodies destroyed and polluted, and our forest reserves decimated by illegal mining. There is a lot more we could have done, and unfortunately, the story is not going in his favor,” Bosu emphasized.
In his final State of the Nation Address on January 3, 2025, President Akufo-Addo reflected on the political consequences of his administration’s anti-galamsey efforts.
He claimed that his commitment to tackling illegal mining led to significant losses for the NPP in Parliament.
“The fight against galamsey led to the loss of several parliamentary seats by my party in the 2020 elections,” the President said, adding that this impacted his second-term policy agenda.
Bosu stressed the need for Ghana to leverage its mineral resources responsibly, calling for a more robust approach to combating illegal mining.
“As a nation, once we have mineral resources, we must leverage them, but it has to be done the proper way,” he said.
