Dr. Ekua Amoakoh, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Communication Team, has criticized the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for what she describes as their failure to implement a concrete plan to tackle illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).
Speaking on GH Today with Lilly Mohammed, Dr. Amoakoh accused the government of lacking direction on the issue, despite their previous criticisms of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) approach.
According to her, traditional authorities play a key role in mining operations, and she urged the media to engage directly with industry stakeholders for accurate information.
“It’s not new; chiefs are already involved in the matter. Even for the media, it’s high time you start to engage those who are actually in the business so that when we are talking, we are actually talking about the facts on the ground,” she stated.
Dr. Amoakoh argued that the NDC, after heavily criticizing the NPP’s policies on galamsey, has failed to introduce any meaningful reforms. She pointed out that President Mahama had previously suggested pardoning jailed illegal miners but has since struggled to take decisive action.
“When you were in opposition, you made a lot of noise about galamsey. Now, you are in power, and what have you done? You have arrested three Chinese nationals and six Ghanaians. Is that all? The same things you condemned, you are now engaging in,” she remarked.
She recalled that former President Nana Akufo-Addo took bold steps in 2017, including a temporary ban on small-scale mining to restructure the sector. She questioned why the NDC government has not implemented a similar strategy.
Furthermore, Dr. Amoakoh accused the NDC of using galamsey as a political tool during their campaign, suggesting that their promises to miners have now left them unable to enforce regulations.
“You cannot campaign to these people, telling them you will let them work freely, and then come into office and suddenly say you want to put a halt to galamsey. You’ve lost the moral right,” she asserted.
She also praised Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s approach to the galamsey crisis and encouraged the NDC to adopt some of his policies.
“There’s nothing wrong with admitting that someone had a good idea. If you don’t know how to fix the problem, just listen and implement what works. At the end of the day, it’s all for the good of Ghana,” she concluded.
