Copyright ghanamma
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed concern over the escalating menace of illegal mining, insisting that President John Dramani Mahama’s current approach to tackling galamsey is falling short. Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, November 8, the party’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, said the scale of illegal mining in the country has reached alarming levels, with perpetrators increasingly emboldened. “Galamsey today, if you take away politics from it, is worse than it was when President Mahama came to office. There can be no denying of that. I believe in my heart that President Mahama genuinely wants to stop galamsey, but the approach so far is not working. Even NAIMOS, I don’t see it as the lasting solution we need. We need a more expansive, all-hands-on-deck approach ,one that is completely devoid of politics,” he said. Ahiagbah argued that a lasting solution requires a united national front involving local communities, traditional authorities, and civil society, alongside government institutions. He added that treating galamsey as a political talking point rather than a collective threat has allowed it to persist. His comments follow a violent confrontation involving the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) at Bronikrom, near Hwidiem in the Ahafo Region, on Saturday, November 1. Police reports indicate the NAIMOS team was attacked after intercepting illegal miners, following arrests and the seizure of key items, including a Smith & Wesson pistol, ammunition, two pistol magazines, an unregistered Range Rover, an unregistered Toyota RAV4, and several mobile phones. The attack is part of a growing trend of violent resistance against anti-galamsey teams nationwide. In response, the Minerals Commission condemned the assaults, describing them as attempts to intimidate law enforcement and derail the national campaign to protect Ghana’s natural resources. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Lands has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ending illegal mining, warning that anyone obstructing or attacking state security officers in the line of duty will face strict consequences.
