Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has debunked charges that the government’s war against illegal mining, often known as galamsey, is politically driven.
Members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have questioned the government’s reinvigorated anti-galamsey campaign in Nana Akufo-second Addo’s term, claiming that the state’s failure to address the issue in its first term proves the government’s failure.
They claim that the government’s attempts to combat the problem will be for vain if the practice is handled in a partisan manner.
Mr. Jinpaor, on the other hand, refuted this assertion, claiming that the government’s war against galamsey had no political overtones.
If the war against galamsey had been politicized, the Minister claimed, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should have won the election in mining villages.
“The NPP should have benefited politically from the lowering of noise previous to the election.” The NPP should have won in every mining community, but it failed to do so in nearly every mining community in the Western and Central Regions. The President’s resolve when he placed his presidency on the line [to fight galamsey] contributed to the loss. That is why he failed in those areas.”
Source: GhanaFeed.com