New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Effiduase Asokore in the Ashanti Region Dr Ayew Afriyie, has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of importing foreign nationals to engage in illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, which has significantly harmed Ghana’s water bodies.
Speaking at the Bawumia Volunteers 2024 (B24) launch in Kumasi over the weekend, Dr Afriyie claimed that these actions were politically motivated, and aimed at undermining the NPP’s popularity ahead of the upcoming elections.
In his remarks, Dr Afriyie asserted that the NPP would not be lured into a trap by the NDC to ban galamsey, a move he suggested could jeopardise the party’s hold on parliamentary seats in mining areas.
He emphasised that the government has no plans of imposing a ban on illegal mining in the immediate future, refuting claims that such a decision is forthcoming.
The MP, a medical doctor who also chairs Parliament’s Health Committee, maintained that prior to the NDC’s alleged actions, the country’s water bodies were clean and free from pollution.
He argued that the introduction of foreign miners has led to the degradation of these vital resources, emphasising the need for accountability regarding the environmental impact of illegal mining.
“The NDC saw that we [NPP] were winning the seats in the mining areas, so they decided to go and import foreigners to engage in illegal mining on our water bodies. The whole water bodies have not been a problem until now, it just started one month ago. It is someone behind that to force the NPP government to stop galamsey so that we will lose the seats. We won’t stop them [Galamseyers] today or tomorrow.”
“Then they take their journalists to talk about it. Is galamsey done in Accra? They should come to Kumasi to demonstrate against galamsey; like they will see,” he said.
Source: Ernest K. Arhinful
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