The former Managing Director of the State Transport Company (STC), Nana Akomea, has sharply criticised the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for what he perceives as their inaction in addressing illegal mining activities, popularly known as "galamsey."

Giving his assessment of the government’s performance in the fight against galamsey, Nana Akomea boldly stated that the current administration has "failed woefully."

Speaking on Peace FM’s "Kokrokoo" on July 1, 2025, Nana Akomea slammed the government, recalling how the NDC had strongly accused the former New Patriotic Party (NPP)-led administration of failing to address the menace of illegal mining and had urged the public to vote them out.

However, he noted that the current government has equally failed to act decisively on its promises to combat the issue.

“On the issue of galamsey, the government has failed woefully in its fight. They claim our [NPP] efforts were not enough and called on Ghanaians to vote us out, so they can eradicate it once in power,” Akomea asserted.

“Now that they have been in power for 6 months, they are now setting up taskforces and river guards. They specifically mentioned their plans on how they were going to deal with galamsey if voted into power and even criticized the then government but are now doing the opposite,” he added.

While the NDC government has recently intensified its anti-galamsey efforts, including the launch of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) on June 27, 2025, and President Mahama's announcement of new measures like excavator import permits on June 3, 2025, Akomea's criticism highlights a perceived delay and inconsistency.

The government has also deployed Blue Water Guards and announced plans for cooperative mining schemes as alternative livelihoods.

Despite these recent initiatives, the politician went on to lament the worsening impact of galamsey on water bodies and forest reserves.

He described the government as hypocritical for previously urging the former administration to declare the issue a national emergency, only to abandon such calls now that they are in power.

“Galamsey is getting worse. They have the power now to declare a state of emergency but have failed and are rather focusing on changing holidays,” he added, referring to the recent announcement about shifting public holidays that fall on certain weekdays.

He proposed that more drastic measures be taken to combat the menace, urging the government to fulfill its campaign promises and take a more decisive stand against illegal mining.

MAG/VPO

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