“When I said I was putting my presidency on the line, that’s what I mean… ” – Prez Akufo-Addo

During his thank-you tour in the North East Region on Tuesday, October 15, President Nana Akufo-Addo reaffirmed his determination to address the pressing issue of illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey. In his remarks to local chiefs, the President emphasized his readiness to take political risks to combat the galamsey crisis, despite the potential consequences for his political standing.

President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) suffered significant losses in constituencies affected by illegal mining during the last election. He pointed out that the NPP’s defeat in these areas highlighted the need for effective and lasting solutions to the problems posed by galamsey. The President’s awareness of the political consequences underscores the complexity of addressing illegal mining while maintaining political support.

In his speech, Akufo-Addo called on all stakeholders to unite in the fight against galamsey, urging them to set aside partisan interests. He stressed that tackling illegal mining should be a collective, non-partisan effort, and that only through unity could Ghana develop more effective strategies to mitigate the environmental and social damages caused by galamsey activities.

“This galamsey matter, which has risen a lot in Ghana today. The last election in the mining districts of the country, the NPP did very badly largely because the NDC presidential candidate and the party had gone around the mining areas and saying that the policy that I was implementing of trying to stop galamsey would be reversed when he came to power and that those who were already in jail for offenses, the galamsey offenses, all of them would be amnestied,” the President explained.

“When I said I was putting my presidency on the line, that’s what I meant, that I was prepared to take the political risk involved in trying to deal with this galamsey phenomenon. The result, of course, was that the mining districts, especially in the western region, all of them, including almost nearly even Tarkwa, was lost to the NPP. That is what I meant when I said I’m putting my presidency on the line, that I was prepared to take the political risk involved in coming to grips with this problem,” he reiterated.