President Akufo-Addo Still Committed to Fighting Galamsey, Says Former MP Fuseini Issah

President Akufo-Addo remains committed to the fight against illegal mining despite challenges, says former Member of Parliament for the Okaikwei North constituency, Fuseini Issah. The President had vowed to end the menace of illegal mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey,’ even if he loses his presidency in the process. However, some stakeholders have criticized the President for not fulfilling his promise. Issah, while contributing to a panel discussion on Citi TV/Citi FM’s news analysis program, emphasized that more efforts are needed to fight the problem.

Illegal mining is a complicated issue that requires a multifaceted approach, according to Issah. He lauded the government’s commitment to ending the menace, but said more needed to be done. The nature of the problem has made it difficult to eradicate completely.

Issah agreed with the Presidency’s response to the galamsey report by Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the former Chairman of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining. He stated that the report was filled with allegations that official reports would not contain.

Issah criticized Professor Frimpong-Boateng for not following the proper process for writing Cabinet reports. The former legislator expected the Professor to produce a report that was directed to Cabinet in the way that Cabinet reports are prepared, with the transmittal letter and everything addressed to either the President or Cabinet. He claimed that the report produced looked like an informal report.

In a 37-page document, Professor Frimpong-Boateng accused government officials of engaging in galamsey or interfering with his work. The Presidency responded by saying that the allegations were hearsay and were not backed by evidence.

For the most part, the fight against illegal mining, or ‘galamsey,’ is a challenging issue that requires a multifaceted approach. The government led by President Akufo-Addo remains committed to ending the menace, although more needs to be done. The report produced by Professor Frimpong-Boateng contained allegations that official reports would not include. While IMCIM was created by Cabinet, the Professor failed to follow the proper process for writing Cabinet reports. The Presidency responded to the allegations, stating that they were hearsay and lacked evidence.

Source: Ghana Guardian.