Nana Baffour Awuah, the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, has said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is fixated on the figure $10 billion.
According to the Manhyia South MP, the NDC keeps repeating the $10 billion for all major projects.
Nana Baffour Awuah highlighted that the Lands minister, rather than being fixated on figures, should direct their attention toward ensuring responsible mining to maximise the country’s economic gains from the extractive sector.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Tuesday, October 14, Baffour Awuah stated, “To begin, how did they arrive at that figure? It appears that the NDC seems to be very fixated on the figure 10 billion”.
“Anytime they quote a figure for a project in this country, they are looking for 10 billion dollars — Hope City, 10 billion dollars; Big Push, 10 billion dollars; and now they want 10 billion dollars to fix galamsey.”
He explained, “I am of the view that all we need is to ensure that there is responsible mining and we are getting the economic benefit that we should get from mining”.
“The NDC clearly and obviously has been contradictory, has been inconsistent, and it was all aimed at getting political power. That is all that the picture seems now, and it is obvious,” he added.
His remarks come following Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, who has revealed the staggering potential financial scope of the anti-galamsey effort.
According to the Lands Minister, a comprehensive fight against illegal mining could cost the nation an estimated $10 billion.
The Lands minister is quoted by 3 news to have said, “The fight against galmsey could cost $10 billion”.
Some Ghanaians have reacted to the minister’s comments, saying, “That figure alone shows just how destructive galamsey has been, not only to our environment but to our economy. If we’d invested that $10 billion in industries, education, or agriculture instead, imagine where Ghana would be today. The fight must continue, but accountability and prevention must go hand in hand”.
Another netizen added, “OUR LIVES ARE WORTH MUCH MORE! WE SHOULD SPARE NO EFFORT. But also mobilise the community and they lead the fight against irresponsible small-scale mining”.
“10 billion what? How much is our entire budget? This is thievery”, a netizen added.
One more netizen added, “Like how? I don’t understand. Cancelling illegal mining and deploying already paid soldiers to the forest will cost what again? They have started”
“Oyiwa! Meanwhile, Galamsey is more intense than it was in 2024, mainly because the government is buying all gold from Galamsey for exports.
The government is enabling Galamsey once they continue to buy gold from them. There’s no traceability in place for GOLDBOD purchases”, a Ghanaian stated.
Additionally, a netizen added, “More reason it makes no sense to focus on the livelihood of these criminals when discussing galamsey. Do you know how many legal jobs that money can create? It is infuriating when we use livelihood to defend why we are not treating these people as criminals, as they are”.