Media coalition to petition Bawumia and Mahama for strong anti-galamsey stance
The Media Coalition against Illegal Mining has announced plans to petition the two leading presidential candidates, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), urging them to publicly denounce illegal mining (galamsey).
The coalition seeks a clear and decisive stance from both candidates as Ghana continues to face severe environmental damage from galamsey operations.
In an interview, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey stressed that a strong public declaration from the presidential hopefuls would showcase their commitment to addressing this pressing issue.
Ing. Ashigbey clarified that the coalition is not pushing for a total ban on all mining activities.
Instead, the coalition is calling for a state of emergency and strict enforcement of Ghana’s mining laws to prevent further environmental and water damage caused by illegal mining.
The coalition aims to ensure the effective implementation of mining laws and hold illegal miners accountable for their destruction.
The coalition hopes this move will strengthen political commitment to tackling the problem, especially in the lead-up to the 2024 general elections.
“The Media Coalition Against Galamsey is not calling for a ban. We are calling for a declaration of a state of emergency and enforcing the laws that we have. The NDC and the NPP sat in Parliament and passed LI 2462 and if you see the people who have been given these permits to go into the forest reserves, we are saying this LI should be revoked and it is the President who can revoke the LI by replacing it with a new LI and if you don’t do that, you will not be able to resolve the problem.”
“To deal with the issue of politicisation, we are going to be calling on the current Vice President, and the former president [John Dramani Mahama], who is the presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to also openly declare their revulsion for what is happening and their support for the crisis efforts,” he said in an interview on Citi FM on September 14.