Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the running mate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), widely known as NAPO, has strongly rejected calls for violent measures, such as shooting or killing individuals engaged in illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey.
His comments come amidst a growing national debate on how to address the illegal mining crisis, which has severely impacted Ghana’s environment, particularly its water bodies.
In a viral video from a recent campaign event, NAPO criticized the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for what he called their hypocritical stance on the issue.
He accused the NDC of flip-flopping, stating that the party had once promised to leave galamseyers alone when seeking votes but is now advocating for extreme measures to curb the illegal practice.
NAPO emphasized that the NPP’s approach would focus on finding sustainable and lawful mining solutions. He advocated for the establishment of community mining schemes that would allow people to mine responsibly and within legal boundaries, without resorting to harmful environmental practices.
However, NAPO was clear about the government’s opposition to mining on water bodies, citing its detrimental effect on the nation’s water resources.
“The time they wanted vote, they said when they come, they would leave the galamseyers alone. But now they want to tell NPP people that we should shoot and kill galamseyers.
“Tell NDC that, no way. We won’t shoot them today or tomorrow. The truth is that God, who created the world, placed the gold under the ground, and it is the job of the government to establish community mining schemes for everybody to work peacefully.”
“What we don’t like is for someone to mine on the water bodies because if we don’t get water to drink, we will die as a nation,” NAPO is heard saying in the viral video.
Source: InsiderGH.com
