Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, a Ghanaian statesman and founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged President John Mahama to take tough decisive measures in the fight against mining in forest reserves and water bodies.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TV3 during the launch of his second book titled “A Nation into Retirement: The Narrative of a Statesman, he expressed disappointment in the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s fight against the long-standing illegal mining popularly known as galamsey.
“I am still not happy about the destruction of our water bodies and the way they (NDC) are tackling galamsey. His main focus should be the correction of the mess that has been created by so-called miners in our forest areas and water bodies.” Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe stressed.
The Ghanaian statesman urged President Mahama’s government not to proceed with their decision to deport foreign nationals involved in illegal mining and other criminal activities, rather than prosecuting them in Ghana.
“These people should be held responsible and secondly, all those who have been arrested who are said to be foreigners, have to go through the law course of this country before they are deported. If the need arises for them to be in prison, they must be in prison before they are deported,” he noted.
The Ministry of the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak has recently come under strong criticism over the decision to deport foreigners involved in illegal mining rather than prosecuting them in the country.
He has, however, emphasised that the deportation policy is not intended to favour foreigners or show leniency. Instead, it is designed to prevent further abuse of Ghana’s legal system and to safeguard national interests.
