Erastus Asare Donkor, an Investigative and Environmental Journalist, has said the John Mahama government is repeating many of the mistakes of the previous Akufo-Addo government in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
According to Erastus Donkor, the Akufo-Addo administration treated galamsey with kid gloves, arguing that the current administration, although it listens, acts differently, contrary to what they say.
He stressed that the Mahama government’s response has not been sufficiently different or forceful to match the scale of environmental destruction.
He argued that Ghana appeared to be repeating past mistakes rather than adopting a more effective strategy.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 31, Erastus Asare Donkor stated, “Basically, we are doing the same thing, aside from the strategy that maybe NAIMOS may be adopting now under the current leadership. That may be slightly different.”
“The previous administration treated this issue with kid gloves. They did not listen to anybody. The current administration, though they listen, they act differently, contrary to what they say,” he stated.
Erastus Donkor further stated that a government committed to ending illegal mining must deploy all the resources available to it.
“In the military, if you want to defeat an enemy, you put all your arsenals, you bring in the weapons, you study the enemy, and you bring out everything that you have to deal with it. We are not seeing that,” he said.
“They need money to fuel vehicles, to pay soldiers in the bushes. And sometimes they have to go and beg, and then a little part of the resources are released to them, just as it has been released now. And then after some time, it goes away,” he said.
“We are not doing much as we are talking about. The seriousness is not being seen,” he added.
When asked why he continued to visit illegal mining sites, he stated, “It’s my duty. I feel that I have to do this for generations unborn. At least that’s my job, to document it. So, I’ll do it”.
“If we had not done the consistent reporting on Tano Anwia, that forest would have been gone by now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Miracles Aboagye, the Director of Communications for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), on the same show accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of being an enabler of illegal mining commonly known as galamsey.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 31, Miracles Aboagye stated, “The NDC has always been an enabler of galamsey in this country since 2009. They have always been. Their history is there. Their records are there. Their facts are there”.
“The galamsey situation always worsens when the NDC comes to power. That is a fact. And the government that has never been able to show any proof of properly fighting galamsey is always the NDC,” he claimed.
He further told the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to take responsibility for the fight against illegal mining.
According to Miracles Aboagye, it has been 24 months since the Mahama government took over power, insisting that the party can no longer blame Akufo-Addo for the worsening galamsey situation.
Miracles Aboagye argued that the Mahama administration’s handling of illegal mining is a failure to fulfil its campaign promises, arguing that its performance so far had fallen short of expectations.
He further fumed at attempts to bring the former President into discussions about the current state of illegal mining.
Miracles Aboagye stated, “This is the evidence of how spectacular this NDC government has failed the people of this country on the back of their own promises and words”.
“One of the things I hate, and it pisses me off when it comes to the galamsey conversation, is when anybody tries to bring Akufo-Addo into it. Stop. Don’t do it. Take him out. It’s been 24 months,” he said.
Miracles Aboagye added, “He was vilified; called names. He was described in all manner of ways because of galamsey. For the first time in the history of this country, a political party and its allies staged demonstrations for a week non-stop on the streets of Accra”.
He recounted that the NDC had shifted from presenting illegal mining as a collective national challenge to placing responsibility squarely on the former President.
“We are beating about the bush and making it look like this galamsey conversation we are having is some Ghana problem and some citizens’ conversation. No, it’s not,” he said.
“So, the people are clear in their minds that, unlike the NPP and the Akufo-Addo administration, which considered galamsey a national problem, the NDC believes it is a government problem and that once it assumes office, galamsey will end,” he said.
“Let nobody pretend and be hypocritical. This government hasn’t done even 50% of what the Akufo-Addo government did in the fight against galamsey,” he said.
@ghnow_ Veteran actor Kofi Adjorlolo arrives at the State House in Accra for the funeral ceremony of the late Grace Nortey to pay his last respects #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – Wasako Lyrics
@ghnow_ Veteran actress Maame Dorkono arrives at the State House to pay her last respects to the late Grace Nortey. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – FANTASY CLUB OF DL
