The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah says former President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) capitalized on illegal small-scale mining (Galamsey) issues for votes in the 2020 general elections.
According to him, that was not patriotism but partisanship on the part of the former President.
In a tweet, Mr Braimah said “Ahead of the 2020 election, former President Mahama and his NDC party, exploited the Galamsey issue for votes.
“That was not patriotism, it was partisanship. The Galamsey fight needs the commitment of all.”
He, therefore, asked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to hold his appointees responsible for the increasing rate of galamsey.
“You are the President. All of Ghana’s gold is entrusted to you. You appointed all the people in charge of lands, minerals, forests, regions, districts etc. Everything is being destroyed yet all your appointees are intact. You want us to believe you’re fighting Galamsey? NO,” he said.
Prior to the 2020 elections, it will be recalled that Mr Mahama who was the NDC’s Presidential Candidate promised to free all illegal miners who were jailed under the Akufo-Addo government, if he was voted.
He said this when he addressed the chiefs and people of Odum Banso in the Western Region in the campaign season.
“It’s sad. The government said it was fighting galamsey, and they arrested, prosecuted, and jailed Ghanaians who were engaged in that activity but left the Chinese woman [Aisha Huang],” he noted.
“Today, they are still in prison. That Chinese galamsey queen was arrested but left to go free. She was never prosecuted but our people are in jail suffering. When we come, we shall grant all those arrested and jailed some amnesty.
“They will come back to their homes and work. I believe that they have suffered enough, shown remorse for whatever wrong they committed. We will institute measures to check the operations of small-scale mining.”
Recently, President Akufo-Addo narrated how his fight against Galamsey cost him and his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) significant losses in the 2020 general elections especially in the mining areas.
This, he said, shows that the commitment he made to put his presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was not a reckless statement.
Speaking during a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and some Municipal Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Kumasi on Wednesday October 5, he said “Since I took office I have made it a central feature of my presidency to lead in the efforts to rid our country of this menace which we all now call galamsey. It has not been popular and we have not got the result that I was looking for.
“Indeed, in the last elections of 2020 my stance on the issue cost my party and me significant losses in the mining communities, it turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bombast or recklessness. It was the simple truth.”
Source: dailyguidenetwork.com
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You are right Ohemaa-Ba. The opposition party should, as a necessity, present the best alternative policies and programs to solve problems and challenges because it has to challenge the ruling government and the electorate that it's indeed the better government in opposition to bring the nation forward. In this regard, the NDC as an opposition party has failed the citizens miserably with its sabotaging diabolic attitude.
USERLESS JOHN ***barred word*** MAHAMA WHO IS SO ***barred word*** NEVER, NEVER AGAIN AS LEADER OF GHANA. THIS MAN PRESIDED OPVER DUMSOR FOR 4YEARS WRECK THE ECONOMY AND SIGNED ALL KINDS OF REDICULOUS TAKE OR PAY AGREEMENT NOT AGAIN.
The NDC, as a political party in the fourth republic, has abysmally failed in terms of its contribution to the practice of democracy in Ghana. I do not believe the NDC understands the fundamental nature of democracy. Thus, the opposition party presents the best alternatives in terms of policies, programs, and competence to withstand crises and challenges to uphold the interests and well-being of the citizenry. The interests and well-being of the people should be principal and measurably in every aspect of party politics, whether in opposition or government. Hence, opposition politics should be constructive and not sabotaging. Quite unfortunately, the NDC has not been able to live up to the task; rather, personal political ego and interest have been the driving force for political power. And political power so obtained can only be sustained by a kleptocracy that is not accountable to the electorate. That is why the NDC is heavily corrupt.
Power at all costs! Nation wreckers!