The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has acknowledged that while progress has been made in the fight against illegal small-scale mining (known as galamsey), it still poses as a threat to the country’s survival.
He believes that the issue can only be resolved if all Ghanaians participate in the fight against galamsey and persist until the problem is solved.
President Akufo-Addo made these remarks at a stakeholders’ dialogue on natural resources in Accra, where he emphasized the urgent need to put an end to galamsey.
“Even though a lot has been achieved in this area between 2017 and 2021, illegal small-scale mining remains a challenge and continues to pose as a threat to our very survival. But we cannot rest while these illegalities still persist,” President Akufo-Addo noted.
President Akufo-Addo in July 2017, in a forum against illegal mining, organised to get Ghana’s chiefs involved in the fight against galamsey put his presidency on the line for the fight.
He vowed to stop the menace, even if he ends up losing the presidency.
The story has been different as some stakeholders have lashed out at the President for reneging on his promise of fighting galamsey.
Former Chairman of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining in a 37-page document accused government officials of engaging in galamsey or interfering in his work.
But the presidency, responding to the claims, said the document is a catalogue of grievances of Professor Frimpong-Boateng and could best be described as hearsay.
