The Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Policies and Research, Kwadwo Nsafoah Poku, says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost several parliamentary seats in mining areas because of the party’s strong crackdown on illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 27, Mr Poku said that while President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government took bold measures to stop illegal mining, the move came at a political cost.
“In 2017, when Nana Addo came into office, he suspended all small-scale mining across the country, both legal and illegal. The suspension lasted approximately 20 months. Operation Vanguard was also deployed with 400 military and police officers to enforce the ban,” he explained.
According to him, these measures, though well-intentioned, hit mining communities hard. “The mining communities were crying that, look, that’s our livelihood. They are not getting money. People kept saying there was a cascading effect, and traders and others in those areas all suffered,” he added.
Mr Poku pointed out that ahead of the 2020 elections, the then-opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) capitalised on the frustrations of affected communities. “In places like Juaboso, where there were 54 polling stations, the NPP lost all of them. We also lost Upper Denkyira West, a seat we had always held, because the galamsey people were going around giving people money to vote against us,” he said.
He said that the government’s tough stance directly contributed to these electoral defeats. “Nana Addo said he would stake his presidency on fighting galamsey. But when we went to the polls in 2020, we lost the majority of our seats in the mining areas,” he noted.
Mr Poku further said that while the NPP government tried to enforce the laws, the NDC gave voters the impression that they would take a more relaxed approach if elected. “The NDC told the people, vote for us, and we will not stop your mining. That carried forward into 2024,” he said.
On the current government’s record, he criticised the lack of effective action. “In nine months of the Mahama administration, none of the promises in their manifesto on galamsey have been fulfilled.
“The only thing they have implemented is the GoldBod. Even their new Blue Water Guards will not succeed, because if 400 soldiers couldn’t stop the destruction of our rivers, people in T-shirts won’t either,” he said.
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