The former Member of Parliament (MP) for Dormaa East in the Bono Region, Paul Apraku Twum Barimah, has urged President John Dramani Mahama and his ministers to apologize to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo over their inability to end the illegal mining activity popularly referred to as galamsey.
According to him, the allegations against Nana Akufo-Addo and his appointees of being beneficiaries of galamsey by the then-candidate Mahama and his party are unfounded.
He observed that President Mahama and his government have not been able to end galamsey in three months as promised hence the need to apologize to President Akufo Addo.
“President Mahama and Sam George denigrated President Akufo Addo and even accused him of being complicit and a beneficiary of galamsey. Today, it has become obvious that President Akufo Addo is not complicit and also not a beneficiary of illegal mining, so they have to apologize to Nana Akufo Addo,” Twum Barimah said.
He criticized the Mahama-led administration for failing to fulfill his campaign promise of ending the galamsey fight.
In the run-up to the December 2024 general elections, President Mahama promised to end the galamsey menace in his first 90 days in office, but that has yet to happen, he said.
“As I speak to you now the galamsey menace has gone out of control with armed guards moving into forest reserves attacking and killing officers of the Forestry Commission. This is not what Ghanaians were promised. Ghanaians were promised an end to galamsey but that is not what we are experiencing, “said the former MP.
According to Twum Barimah, President Akufo Addo in his 8-year tenure fought strongly against illegal mining to the point that the NPP lost votes in mining communities in the 2020 and 2024 general elections. President Akufo Addo never got any support from President Mahama and the NDC in his fight against illegal mining at the time to tackle the menace.
“The NDC rather protested against the NPP government and succeeded in making it unpopular among Ghanaians. Today, their members are deeply engaged in galamsey and destroying our forest reserves,” he added. Enditem
Source: The National Voice
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