Rev Fr Louis Cecilia Adu-Poku, a Catholic priest, has told President John Dramani Mahama that Ghana is not going in the right direction.
According to the Catholic Priest, President Mahama must listen to people who will tell him the truth and make decisions in the interest of the country.
Rev Fr Adu-Poku of the Archdiocese of Kumasi made this known during a mass.
He also criticised the Mahama government’s handling of illegal mining, commonly known as “galamsey”.
The priest argued that Ghana’s galamsey menace has worsened under Mahama’s administration, despite the president’s pledge to tackle the menace within his first 100 days in office.
Rev Fr Adu-Poku stated, “Respectfully give a listening ear to people who will tell you the truth. This nation, in all indications, is not going in the right direction”.
“You promised to stop Galamsey within your first 100 days; we’ve gone beyond that… Galamsey has worsened under your tenure,” he said.
The priest also criticised what he described as attacks on people who openly raise concerns about the government, urging Mahama to listen to what he called “discerning voices” and take decisions that would serve the national interest.
He further added, “Some of us have prayed. And we know people who are working behind the scenes to turn this nation over,” he said, without identifying the individuals or groups he was referring to.
“You have a few years to leave the scene. It is either you allow God to make a name with you or disgrace yourself before you leave the scene.”
“On our part, we are going to pray for you because God has chosen us to do that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ken Ashigbey, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, has warned that Ghana is getting to a point of no return in the menace of illegal mining, locally called galamsey.
According to Ken Ashigbey, there is a growing boldness of illegal miners and attacks on security personnel that point to a worsening galamsey crisis.
He disclosed that there is evidence that shows that galamsey has spread to some areas in Ghana where it was previously absent about two years ago.
Ken Ashigbey argued that Ghana’s best bet at stopping galamsey is under President John Dramani Mahama but warned that the President would become a lame duck soon, as he would no longer be contesting for office.
Speaking in an interview on ChannelOne TV on August 31, 2026, Ken Ashigbey stated, “There are places where we’re seeing galamsey happen today that were not happening in 2024. The level of impudence that we’re seeing today, we’re not seeing it in 2024. One of the elements that we’ve all considered is the issue of forests, the fact that there’s some good work that has been done.
“But if you look at where we are going now, where now the people are becoming so bold that they can attack eight military men with a colonel, they get police people, and they are able to confiscate (their weapons),” he fumed.
He added, “So we are getting to a point of no return, and unfortunately for us, unfortunately, we have a president who does not have another tenure, so our best bet is this current president. Unfortunately, he does not have another two years to deal with it because very soon he will become a lame duck.”
Ken Ashigbey stressed that there is a need for a strong will to ensure that all persons implicated in cases of illegal mining, including politicians and traditional authorities, are dealt with by the laws of the country.
“We need to also deal with the issues that are currently confronting us. So I will not depart from holding the MCEs, DCEs, the chiefs, the police commanders in these communities (accountable),” he said.
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