Senior campaign advisor to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kwabena Agyepong, asserts that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is using the problem of illegal mining, or “galamsey,” as a political ploy to deflect criticism away from their lack of a platform ahead of the elections on December 7.
As the general elections of 2024 draw near, the former General Secretary of the NPP asserted that the intensified emphasis on galamsey is a deliberate attempt to undermine the Akufo-Addo government.
He claims that the opposition party is purposefully exaggerating the issue of illegal mining in order to incite popular dissatisfaction with the administration.
Agyepong contended that despite admitting that galamsey is a huge issue, the NPP government has made tremendous attempts to combat it through a number of programs.
He added that the NDC is using its criticism as a distraction to draw attention away from its own shortcomings on the matter while in government.
“…[If you have genuine concerns] You will not be creating or orchestrating chaos in the country…At that time all the people making noise, were they not in this country? So what has changed? That 60 days to elections, what has changed? In the heat of a campaign,”Kwabena Agyepong told Channel One TV
“We have elections, if it’s a genuine concern, then the proponents of that should have a plan and sit with the two key parties. What is happening is very sad for our country. We don’t do galamsey in Accra if you are serious about it, you’ve to go to the areas and engage with the people.”
