The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, says his stance on illegal mining (galamsey) cost him and his party significant losses during the 2020 elections.
Although he won the election, he pointed that some people in the mining communities did not vote for the NPP during the 2020 elections.
He said this at a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and the MMDCEs on the Galamsey menace in Kumasi today, October 5, 2022.
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“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 admitted that the fight against the galamsey menace has not been easy, adding that it did not yield the expected results despite the numerous initiatives to end the menace.
According to him, since he took office, he made it a central feature to rid the country of this galamsey menace, but unfortunately, he said, the government did not get the results he was looking for.
“Since I took office on 7th January 2017, nearly six years ago, I have made it a central feature of my Presidency to lead the efforts to rid our country off 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.
Meanwhile, 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, therefore, 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.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
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