Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has attributed the worsening illegal mining situation in Ghana to what he termed as President John Dramani Mahama’s “soft” approach to the fight against galamsey.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, April 19, Ahiagbah argued that the President’s campaign posture and lack of a firm stance have emboldened illegal miners rather than deterring them.
“Galamsey has worsened because the president is soft on it. His campaign compromised his position to do anything. They promised these people opportunities. Their campaign to come to office gave comfort to galamseyers,” Ahiagbah stated.
In his view, the lack of decisive action has failed to send a clear message to illegal miners.
“Without impugning his motive and saying that he is for galamsey, his approach so far has not been stern, has not sent a strong signal that they want to fight galamsey. The extent of galamsey today is worse than he inherited, and he must do something about it.”
Ahiagbah further challenged the President to back his “reset Ghana agenda” with firm actions against galamsey, warning that the current trajectory undermines national efforts to curb the environmental and economic destruction caused by the practice.
Ghanaian fashion
“President Mahama, in the context of their reset agenda, should be setting certain clear signals out there that they are against this galamsey thing. But somehow they haven’t, and everything they have done so far has not provided any incentive for the galamseyers to say that this is a no-go area. Rather, they appear to have given them the leeway to be doing galamsey,” he said.
However, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC), Dr. Rashid Tanko Computer, has expressed confidence that the new gold trading regulatory system, led by the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), will curb illegal gold trade and ensure Ghana fully benefits from its mineral resources.
This follows the establishment of the GoldBod and the annulment of all previous PMMC-issued licenses, underpinned by the Ghana Gold Board Act (Act 1140), passed by Parliament on March 29 and assented to by the President on April 2, 2025.
