Owusu Bempah accuses NDC of hypocrisy: “Kettle calling the pot black” in Galamsey fight

The Deputy Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ernest Owusu Bempah, has slammed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for their recent criticisms of the Akufo-Addo administration’s handling of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey). He accused the NDC of having no moral right to criticize the current government, stating that their track record on the galamsey menace is “horrible.”

Owusu Bempah’s statement was made in response to the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, who referred to all government appointees mentioned in the Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng report as “galamsey kingpins.” The report detailed the activities of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) during the previous administration, with some government officials accused of working against the fight against illegal mining.

However, Owusu Bempah said that the NDC’s criticisms were unwarranted, citing the Mahama administration’s Youth in Small Scale Mining programme as a major contributor to the galamsey problem. He also mentioned the issuance of an indefinite resident permit to Aisha Huang, which allowed her to engage in galamsey activities during the Mahama administration.

In a nutshell, Owusu Bempah believes that the NDC has no right to criticize the Akufo-Addo government on galamsey since their track record on the issue is poor. He also argued that the Mahama administration’s policies and actions contributed significantly to the problem, making it hypocritical for the NDC to criticize the current government.