Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, has submitted that political commitment remained the missing link in the fight against illegal small-scale mining, known as galamsey.
He contends that any government that commits to fighting the scourge must be ready to lose the next election.
sked during an interview on Net2 TV last week, if he can effectively lead the fight against galamsey, he said his modus operandi will have dire electoral consequences for the New Patriotic Party, NPP.
“My actions will cause NPP to lose power. I will arrest everyone be they NDC or NPP and the machines will be burnt on the spot when seized… only a government ready to lose elections after four years can effectively fight galamsey,” he submitted.
He also lamented general indiscipline in society stressing that it boiled down to politicians who feared losing elections, hence always doing what was convenient rather than what will help solve the many national problems.
“Why can’t we reason as human beings and do the right things that will help us,” he stated while lamenting the damage that galamsey continued to wreak on the environment and to water bodies.
“Indiscipline is as a result of politicians who are afraid to lose power but I am not afraid to lose elections. In whatever I do, I look at the interest of my country, that is how other people sacrificed their lives to build their countries and make it a better place for us to travel to and spend money there.”
Galamsey has been a major talking point in the last few years stemming from the ravages that it is wreaking mineral rich areas across the country.
A presidential taskforce was formed to coordinate the fight against galamsey with members of the security agencies drafted to form a team that remains on the ground fighting galamsey.
Posted by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh.
