Richard Ahiagbah, Director of Communications for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has expressed doubts about President Mahama’s ability to combat illegal mining, also known as ‘galamsey’.
Ahiagbah says the President cannot fight illegal mining because of his political ties with persons involved in the act.
According to the NPP’s Director of Communications, the NDC allegedly sought support from individuals involved in illegal mining ahead of the December 2024 elections, and may struggle to crack down on the practice, particularly in its early days in office.
“President Mahama is very soft on galamsey, and it has worsened under him because he is compromised by many of the things he said on the campaign platform. They actively campaigned for galamsey votes in 2020.
“So, where he is now, he cannot do anything, at least in the short term, to aggressively attack these galamsey people,” Ahiagbah alleged on Accra-based Channel One TV Wednesday, April 02, 2025.
He alleged further that although government is making strong pronouncements about fighting the menace, it has been slow on its actions towards clamping the perpetrators.
Ahiagbah alluded to the fact that although the practice did not start in the NDC’s era, the need to fight it doesn’t have to be politicised.
“In my assessment, strong statements are one thing, but the mechanisms on the ground to deal with these matters are not there. Galamsey is worse today, and we are threatening our existence with this galamsey issue.
“Granted, galamsey didn’t start today, and we need to fight it. At that level, I say let’s deal with the issue outside of politics because they interlace.
“The idea that galamsey is getting worse is because the NDC had a tacit benefit from the galamseyers, and they cannot do anything immediately to deal with them,” he stated.
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