By William
Yaw Owusu
Wednesday
May 02, 2018
Executive Director of Danquah Institute,
Dr. Kingsley Nyarko has accused former President John Dramani Mahama of
sabotaging the fight against illegal mining known in local parlance as ‘galamsey.’
According to the Chief Executive, the utterances
and actions of the former President - who is lacing his boots to lead the
opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) after being made a one-term
President in December 2016 - shows that he is clearly working against the
interests of the country.
Political
Backlash
Mr. Mahama is receiving the flak for
what looks like his clear endorsement of the destruction of the environment
particularly water bodies by illegal miners after he condemned the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) government and the security agencies code-named ‘Operation
Vanguard’ who have been credited for stopping galamsey activities to a large
extent at the so-called NDC ‘Unity Walk’in Kumasi recently.
The former President had given the
illegal miners tacit support when he openly appeared to say that when given the
nod he was going to make them have a field day.
“It is true that if we don’t do
something about it, it will destroy the environment. But we need to apply
wisdom. Because we’ve chased young people involved in illegal small-scale
mining with soldiers in the past in this country but it didn’t work,” he fired
in Kumasi on Saturday and added “but if we put a blanket ban and send soldiers
after the young people, that is not the way to go.”
“As you stop illegal small-scale mining,
at the same time you must put in place a livelihood package so that as you are
displacing people from illegal mining, they have something to do….But when
there is nothing to do but you are just chasing them, shooting them, it is not
the way to go,” he also said.
Political
Expediency
Dr. Nyarko said however that the former
President is being unpatriotic, noting “it is very sad, worrying and troubling
when as a result of political power, politicians play to the gallery and act
against the interest of the country.”
“It is clear that the former President
has admitted, though sadly that he did not apply wisdom when in May 2013 he
inaugurated a high-powered inter-ministerial committee, dubbed Anti-Galamsey
Task Force to find lasting solution to illicit mining once and for all,” adding
“Good to know that you did not apply wisdom in your case, sir; but we want you
to understand that President Akufo-Addo’s intervention was influenced and
backed by wisdom.”
Current
Dispensation
He said unlike the former President, the
current leader’s “inter- ministerial team headed by Prof. Frimpong Boateng was
mandated not only to end the illegal mining menace, but it has a comprehensive
intervention that also seeks to provide an alternative livelihood for the
displaced miners, which they are feverishly working to achieve.”
“What is even more troubling about the
sad and disturbing comment by ex-President Mahama is that when on March 1, 2014
he announced the second phase of the operation of the Task Force, he said they
were going to introduce a livelihood package which was never done. For over 2
years, no such package was rolled out by his administration; but today he is
lecturing us on the need to provide such an intervention.”
Belated
Advice
“We want to state emphatically that his
advice is late; President Akufo-Addo is wise and knows that already and is
doing that. When it comes to fighting illegal mining, former President Mahama
was a miserable failure; in fact, he promoted it.”
He said “his legacy was a deplorable and
degraded environment, destruction of our water bodies and farmlands, school
children dropping out of school to engage in illegal mining, needless and
preventable deaths and loss of mineral revenue to the
State, among others.”
Passionate
Appeal
Dr. Nyarko who is a member of the
National Service Scheme (NSS) board appealed passionately to the public
especially small scale miners with genuine license “to work to bear with the
President and government as they work to make the environment conducive and
friendly for all,” saying “when we lose the fight against illegal mining, we
will lose our good intention of providing a better country for the current and
future generations.”
He urged Ghanaians “to be wary and
worried about some politicians, mostly from the NDC who, as a result of
desperation to capture political power, do not care a hoot about our lands
being degraded as long as it will increase their political fortunes.”
He said that Ghana’s interest should be
Mr. Mahama’s “major preoccupation and not the desperate and uncontrolled
appetite to be president again,” adding “that desire is not patriotism, but
parochial which has the potential of wasting the fortunes of this great nation
of ours.”
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