The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Mampong in the Ashanti Region, Yakubu Issifu, has commended the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government for its initial efforts in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Speaking on Nhyira Fm’s morning show, Mr. Issifu said it was too early to chastise the government given that it had spent only nine months in office.
“Nine months is too short to chastise the NDC government on the galamsey fight,” he stressed.
He explained that some communities in the Ashanti Region have already seen improvements in their water bodies within a short period of the NDC administration.
“Some of our water bodies have regained their natural state in just a few months of NDC,” he said.
Touching on the local situation in Mampong, the MCE revealed that the late Mamponghene had earlier banned illegal mining in the area despite the abundance of gold deposits.
“There is plenty of gold in Mampong but the late Mamponghene banned galamsey in the area. We cannot win this fight if chiefs refuse to support government” noted the MCE.
Galamsey has remained one of Ghana’s most difficult challenges in natural resource management, threatening farmlands, forest reserves, and water bodies.
Successive governments have pledged to tackle the menace, but results have been mixed due to the involvement of powerful local and political interests.
Yakubu Issifu, however, expressed optimism that the current government’s policies could yield lasting results if they are given time and supported by traditional authorities, local assemblies, and the citizenry.
Source: Barima Kofi Dawson
