President Akufo-Addo: “I put my presidency on the line to combat illegal mining”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated his commitment to fighting illegal mining, known as galamsey, stating that he has taken significant political risks and even staked his presidency on the battle.
Speaking during his ‘Thank You Tour’ in the Northeast Region on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, the president reflected on the challenges he has faced since he first vowed to tackle galamsey in 2017.
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that his strong stance on the issue has led to criticism and political backlash, particularly within mining communities. He expressed concern over the poor performance of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2020 elections in these areas, attributing the decline to propaganda spread by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama, who suggested the policy would be reversed under his leadership.
The president highlighted the NPP’s near loss in key mining districts, especially in the Western Region, as evidence of the political risks he took. He challenged Mahama to clarify his current position on illegal mining, noting that the former president has sent mixed messages on the issue.
“In the last election [2020] in the mining districts of the country, the NPP did very badly largely because the NDC presidential candidate and the party had gone around the mining areas and said that the policy that I was implementing of trying to stop galamsey would be reversed when he comes to power and that those who were already in jail for offences, the galamsey offences, all of them would be amnestied.
“When I said I was putting my presidency on the line, that’s what I meant, that I was prepared to take the political risk involved in trying to deal with this galamsey phenomenon. The result, of course, was that the mining districts, especially in the Western region, all of them, including almost nearly even Tarkwa, were lost to the NPP.
“That is what I meant when I said I’m putting my presidency on the line, that I was prepared to take the political risk involved in coming to grips with this problem.”
Akufo-Addo reaffirmed his dedication to combating galamsey and called on Mahama to be clear about his stance, accusing him of delivering contradictory statements on the matter.
“Today, he [Mahama] said that, no, he doesn’t believe in jail, that he’s against galamsey, and he will enforce the law. So once again, we have to ask ourselves, Mr. JM, where do you stand? What are you telling the people of Ghana? Because every time you speak, you speak from one corner of your mouth and you speak from another corner of your mouth.”
