The former Director of Communications for the 2024 Bawumia campaign team, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has called on the government to take decisive action to tackle illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
He has, among other things, urged the government to declare a state of emergency, arrest kingpins rather than young men in the bushes, and fulfill its pledge to halt all mining activities.
“The soldiers in the bush burning the excavators have been in the bush for a long time; they are not new and are doing the same things Akufo-Addo did. So why did we vote out Akufo-Addo?
“NDC vowed to stop galamsey in one week and release all illegal miners arrested. Why is Mahama now arresting illegal miners? Where are the kingpins he spoke of, and why are they not being arrested rather than the young men operating the excavators in the bush?” he questioned.
According to him, President John Mahama, ahead of the 2024 election, promised several interventions to halt the menace.
However, no efficient and concrete strategy has been employed since his swearing-in on January 7, 2025, including the promise to repeal L.I. 2462, which prohibits mining in forest reserves within 120 days.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, Aboagye stated that former President Akufo-Addo’s commitment to the fight against galamsey was unmatched, but the NDC, despite its criticism, has failed to roll out new measures and is only replicating what was done in the past.
“Galamsey is one of the reasons NPP lost the election. We suffered an onslaught, and the NDC benefitted from it. All labour unions were on our necks and threatened nationwide strikes.
“We want the NDC to declare a state of emergency because galamsey has escalated. That is what they professed two months ago to us. We burnt excavators, we arrested illegal miners, we put them in jail, and the president today said that was not the way to go, but that is exactly what he is doing now,” he stated.
He continued, “He said on a campaign platform that he doesn’t understand why we were arresting people in the pits and that when he comes, he will release them. So why is he arresting them in the pits today?”
ALSO READ: