NDC Importing Foreign Nationals for Illegal Mining – NPP MP Claims

The Member of Parliament for Effiduase Asokore in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Ayew Afriyie, has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of importing foreign nationals to engage in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. He claims this activity has severely polluted Ghana’s water bodies and is politically motivated to undermine the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the upcoming elections.

Speaking at the Bawumia Volunteers 2024 (B24) launch in Kumasi, Dr. Afriyie alleged that the NDC’s actions are a deliberate attempt to damage the NPP’s reputation in mining communities. He insisted that the NPP would not fall into a trap to ban galamsey, as doing so could harm the party’s chances of retaining parliamentary seats in those areas.

“The NDC saw that we [NPP] were winning the seats in the mining areas, so they decided to go and import foreigners to engage in illegal mining on our water bodies,” Dr. Afriyie stated. He further claimed that Ghana’s water bodies were clean and unaffected by pollution until foreign miners were brought in, suggesting the problem started only recently.

Despite calls for action to curb the environmental damage caused by illegal mining, Dr. Afriyie asserted that the government has no immediate plans to ban galamsey. He dismissed rumors that such a decision was imminent and criticized media coverage of the issue, claiming that journalists are being manipulated to highlight the damage for political purposes.

“The whole water bodies have not been a problem until now… We won’t stop them [galamseyers] today or tomorrow. Then they take their journalists to talk about it. Is galamsey done in Accra? They should come to Kumasi to demonstrate against galamsey; like they will see,” he concluded.

Dr. Afriyie’s comments have added to the ongoing debate about the environmental and political consequences of illegal mining in Ghana, a key issue as the 2024 elections approach.The Member of Parliament for Effiduase Asokore in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Ayew Afriyie, has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of importing foreign nationals to engage in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. He claims this activity has severely polluted Ghana’s water bodies and is politically motivated to undermine the New Patriotic Party (NPP) ahead of the upcoming elections.

Speaking at the Bawumia Volunteers 2024 (B24) launch in Kumasi, Dr. Afriyie alleged that the NDC’s actions are a deliberate attempt to damage the NPP’s reputation in mining communities. He insisted that the NPP would not fall into a trap to ban galamsey, as doing so could harm the party’s chances of retaining parliamentary seats in those areas.

“The NDC saw that we [NPP] were winning the seats in the mining areas, so they decided to go and import foreigners to engage in illegal mining on our water bodies,” Dr. Afriyie stated. He further claimed that Ghana’s water bodies were clean and unaffected by pollution until foreign miners were brought in, suggesting the problem started only recently.

Despite calls for action to curb the environmental damage caused by illegal mining, Dr. Afriyie asserted that the government has no immediate plans to ban galamsey. He dismissed rumors that such a decision was imminent and criticized media coverage of the issue, claiming that journalists are being manipulated to highlight the damage for political purposes.

“The whole water bodies have not been a problem until now… We won’t stop them [galamseyers] today or tomorrow. Then they take their journalists to talk about it. Is galamsey done in Accra? They should come to Kumasi to demonstrate against galamsey; like they will see,” he concluded.

Dr. Afriyie’s comments have added to the ongoing debate about the environmental and political consequences of illegal mining in Ghana, a key issue as the 2024 elections approach.