Galamsey fight has not been easy- Akufo-Addo laments

The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has admitted that the fight against illegal mining (galamsey) in the country has not been easy despite the many initiatives put in place.

According to him, since he took office, he made it a central feature to rid the country of the galamsey menace, unfortunately, he said the government did not get the results he was looking for as far as the fight against galamsey is concerned.

“Since I took office on 7th January 2017, nearly six years ago, I have made it a central feature of my Presidency to lead in the efforts to rid our country of this menace, which we all now call galamsey. Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address of that day, it has not been easy, it has not been popular and we have not got the immediate results that I was looking for,” he said.

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President Akufo Addo made the comments today, October 5, 2022 at a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and the MMDCEs on the Galamsey menace in Kumasi.

He complained that his stance on illegal mining caused his party significant losses during the 2020 elections, especially in mining communities.

“Indeed, in the last elections of 2020, my stance on the issue caused my party and I significant losses in the mining communities,”He said.

The President has been dragged by a section of the public about his statement of putting his presidency on the line to fight against galamsey after the fight appeared unsuccessful.

Speaking about the statement, he said, “It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bombast nor recklessness, it was the simple truth.”

He urged the National House of Chiefs and MMDCEs to take partisan political interests out of the fight against illegal mining (galamsey).

President Akufo Addo also called on all stakeholders to join hands with him in the fight against illegal mining in order to bring an end to the devastation of our landscape and the pollution of the water bodies in the country.

“I ask all of you to join hands with me in the fight against illegal mining in order to bring an end to the devastation of our landscape and the pollution of our water bodies. We have to win that fight, to keep our environment clean and protect our heritage for our descendants, as you did so well in the past,” he added.