President Akufo-Addo calls on chiefs and MMDCEs to actively support the government's efforts to combat illegal mining.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has renewed his call for the country's Chiefs, Metropolitan, Municipal, and Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to rise up and take the lead in the fight against illegal mining (galamsey).
According to the President, as custodians of lands, the Chiefs have an obligation to protect the lands entrusted to them, and joining forces with the government to combat illegal mining is a duty they owe to their communities and the country.
President Akufo-Addo told traditional authorities at the National House of Chiefs in Kumasi on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, that the fight against illegal mining can only be won if the government, traditional authorities, and relevant stakeholders work together more closely and effectively.
He stated that his government has been committed to eliminating the galamsey menace since its inception, but that efforts are being hampered by a lack of collaboration from some chiefs, individuals, and key institutions.
He expressed his government's openness and transparency toward mining, but clarified that mining must be done in accordance with the country's laws, as well as in a responsible and sustainable manner.
For President Akufo-Addo, the fight to protect the country's waterbodies necessitates an all-hands-on-deck approach free of politics and personal agendas.
He lamented the politicization of the fight against galamsey and urged politicians to rise above such partisanship and self-interest.
He asserted that his government will remain steadfast in its determination to ensure the long-term use of the country's abundant mineral resources.
"We have tried many initiatives, including the community mining scheme and the establishment of a new legal regime for dealing with the perpetrators of this phenomenon, which has imposed severe sanctions ranging from 15 to 25 years in prison for illegal mining activities," he added.
"Our country's progress depends on all of us; all Ghanaians; all fellow Ghanaians working together to defeat this existential threat to our future," he pleaded.
"No one seeks to use the fight against galamsey to gain political advantage, as we saw in the last election." The progress of our country is dependent on all of us, all Ghanaians, all citizens of Ghana, working together to defeat this existential threat to our future," the President stated.
"I implore you all to join me in the fight against illegal mining in order to put an end to the devastation of our lands and pollution of our water bodies."
The President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, expressed concern that galamsey activities are a threat to Ghanaians' survival and that any action taken to curb them must be supported by all.
He noted that illegal mining activities have harmed the cocoa industry as well as Ghana's revenue generation and employment targets, and he urged that anyone caught engaging in illegal mining be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
He praised President Akufo-Addo for his personal dedication to the fight to protect resources for future generations, and he promised the government the traditional authorities' full support.
The President later met with MMDCEs and Regional Ministers in illegal mining endemic areas, charging them to work actively and closely with the Central Government to reverse the Galamsey phenomenon.
Government, he said, has a lot to do with reputation, adding that the galamsey fight has a political cost, but it is "a cost we should be willing to pay in the interest of Ghana."
"You are my representative at the local level, and it cannot be that government fighting the menace and you are found complicit," the President said, adding, "I will not be in a position to protect anyone who is found in such act against whom evidence has been established to be involved in the Galamsey."
Let us work together to restore our water bodies, landscape, forest reserve to enable us break the 8”, he concluded.
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