Former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, popularly known as Joe Wise, has cast doubt on the Mahama administration’s commitment to tackling illegal mining, insisting that there is “absolutely no fight” against the menace on the ground.
Speaking in an interview with EIB’s Parliamentary Correspondent, Ibrahim Alhassan, the former Bekwai MP dismissed the government’s claims of progress in curbing galamsey, arguing that the situation has instead worsened under the current administration.
According to him, despite the introduction of initiatives such as the Blue Water Guards and the NAIMOS Taskforce, illegal mining activities continue unabated in several parts of the country, including a community close his own constituency.
“So far, I haven’t seen any fight. My constituency is next to one of the busiest in terms of galamsey. My own personal cocoa farm – I visited there about two weeks ago and I’ve never seen as much devastation before,” Joe Wise lamented.
He described the destruction of his farm as shocking, noting that illegal miners had completely taken over the land. “The last time I was there was about a year ago, and when I went back recently, it had like quadrupled. Every space along the route is mined,” he said.
The former Deputy Speaker accused government officials of being detached from the reality of the situation, urging them to visit affected communities to appreciate the true extent of the damage.
“I don’t see any, absolutely no activity of anybody preventing or stopping anybody. Absolutely nothing happening – at least in the areas where I work, nothing happening. Sometimes I find it funny for those of us sitting in and around Accra and theorising. I think they should go into the ground, visit the places,” he stressed.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
