THE FIGHT AGAINST GALAMSEY HAS FAILED BECAUSE OF POLITICS -AFENYO MARKIN

The fight against galamsey has failed because of politics -Afenyo Markin 


The Deputy Speaker ofParliament called for cooperation to ensure that Ghana builds a National Agreement to end galamsey in the country.

Afenyo Markin expressed concern about how our water is treated in response to Kobina Woyome's comments on the current galamsey mining inBlack Volta. He said the government is trying to fightgalamsey, but some are using it for political purposes. 

He said that if another party is elected today, any attempt to make galamsey will destroy theparty because we have people who will make it a political issue. He lamented, this approach isnot helping the country to overcome the menace. 

He said that the politics of galamsey will not get us anywhere if the support is to ensure that we have a national agreement on the issue. "Thereshould be no NDC, there should be no NPP, and there should be no faction when it comes to Galamsey. I am worried about what is happening in our water.We have no drinking water. Cancer is progressive. Manypeople suffer from colon cancer. Have we thought of that? Theseare the poor people in our country, they will come to us like politicians asking for helpto heal themselves. We will suffer because we all drink water in the country, the water comes from Ghana water. Youhave to be careful in this country. We must stop this political hypocrisy. We need toknow as a political party that there are issues of national interest and rally around them without thinking about the next election. 

He stressed the need forpoliticians to come together to fight cancer regardless ofpolitical affiliation. 

He said that it is all of us whoare causing the galamsey problem since we have all failedincluding CSOs, media and state agencies and others. On his part, Chief Minority Whip Kwame Governs Agbodza described the galamseyers as murderers who must suffer the punishment of those convicted of murder. 

He said: If you are outside this house and in this house workinggalamsey, you are a murderer like anyone who kills people by robbing people, and punishment which applies tomurderers should s apply to those involved in galamsey. " 



He said that the Chamber isready to help all government agencies and organizations in charge of galamsey to do good. Joseph Osei Wusu, the first vice president, also asked the people of the house to do goodto stop galamsey in the country. 

He believes that the fight against galamsey will succeed if we do something, and until we do parliamentarians will continue to submit statements about the issue as it relates to their area. He remembers that he spoke five years ago when the crisis reached the northern region.