Galamsey menace: Akufo-Addo is a pandemic we are refusing to name - Mahama’s aide jabs

Joyce Bawah Mogtari, an aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, has labeled Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as a ‘pandemic’ that is yet to be named. She explained the tag on Akufo-Addo citing the president’s failure to deal decisively with the illegal small-scale mining menace which is popularly referred to as ‘galamsey’. Contributing to a discussion on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme on October 10, Bawah Mogtari stated that the galamsey fight is being lost as a result of connivance, collaboration and collusion amongst some key government officials and governing party bigwigs. The former deputy Transport Minister indicated that several government and party officials have been left of the hook despite being implicated in reports and investigations, a situation she blames on President Akufo-Addo. “When you look at the whole subject of galamsey, I would put it very very simply: it is as a result of conspiracists, of connivance, of collaboration and of collusion by government operatives, key actors and all of them. “Some have been named in many reports, some have been fingered, some have been mentioned many times over and absolutely nothing has been done. None of the bigwigs mentioned have been brought to book. “Secondly, almost all you hear is as if there is a squeal like a child complaining about discomfort, about dissatisfaction and about hunger for that matter. But in all of that where do you place the effort? The buck stops with the leader,” the aide said. Madam Joyce Bawah Mogtari further implicated President Akufo-Addo in the failed galamsey fight stating that he has refused to act on the matter. She accused the president of knowing those who were engaged in the illegal activity adding that fight will be won when Nana Akufo-Addo leaves office. She believes if the president had began with the prosecution of NPP bigwigs found to be involved in galamsey, the situation would not have degenerated into the current state of environmental degradation “The question is not whether or not we have not been mining all these years. The question now is about how first to curb all the unnecessary licenses that are being issued. Second is that we should endeavor to undertake sustainable mining which is what we have before, then of course now to preach responsibility even for those in that space. But what do we see? “All that has happened in this fight against galamsey is that, it has failed woefully and has not met anybody’s expectations because of President Akufo-Addo. President Akufo-Addo is actually a pandemic that we are all refusing to name. If he leaves the scene now, I can bet you a lot more will be done to stem galamsey. “Secondly, if he picks up his own bigwigs and prosecutes them as he should be doing, we will not be having this conversation. He knows the perpetrators. He knows those who are engaged in these illegal activities,” Bawah Mogtari added. Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below: DS/SARA