President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that he has taken significant political risks and put his presidency on the line in the ongoing fight against illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey. His commitment to combat this issue has faced severe criticism since he first pledged action in 2017.

During his ‘Thank You Tour’ in the Northeast Region on Tuesday, October 15, President Akufo-Addo emphasized his dedication to eradicating galamsey, asserting that he is bound by his word and ready to face any consequences that arise from it.

He expressed concern over the poor performance of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2020 elections within mining areas, attributing this decline to propaganda spread by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama.

The president highlighted that in mining districts, particularly in the Western Region, the NPP nearly lost ground.

“In the last election [2020] in the mining districts of the country, the NPP did very badly largely because the NDC presidential candidate and the party had gone around the mining areas and said that the policy that I was implementing of trying to stop galamsey would be reversed when he comes to power and that those who were already in jail for offences, the galamsey offences, all of them would be amnestied.

“When I said I was putting my presidency on the line, that’s what I meant, that I was prepared to take the political risk involved in trying to deal with this galamsey phenomenon. The result, of course, was that the mining districts, especially in the Western region, all of them, including almost nearly even Tarkwa, were lost to the NPP.

“That is what I meant when I said I’m putting my presidency on the line, that I was prepared to take the political risk involved in coming to grips with this problem.”

Akufo-Addo challenged Mahama to declare his stance on galamsey.

“Today, he [Mahama] said that, no, he doesn’t believe in jail, that he’s against galamsey, and he will enforce the law. So once again, we have to ask ourselves, Mr. JM, where do you stand? What are you telling the people of Ghana? Because every time you speak, you speak from one corner of your mouth and you speak from another corner of your mouth.”