By Prince Ahenkorah
The National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has affirmed that the next NDC/Mahama government, will support responsible and legal mining, while opposing illegal mining activities in the country.
Sammy Gyamfi stated, “Mahama supports legal mining; he supports responsible mining. If John Mahama comes to power, every miner who wants to engage in legal, responsible mining will be supported with the necessary capacity building, training, and equipment to mine responsibly. But we will never, ever support illegal mining. We will never, ever support mining in water bodies. If you want, vote against us.”
Sammy Gyamfi, made this declaration on Metro TV,Good Morning Ghana show on Thursday, October 24, 2024.
He reiterated that John Mahama and the next NDC government will never support mining in water bodies and warned anyone in the NDC considering such actions to reconsider their stance.
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Sammy Gyamfi criticized the NPP’s comparisons regarding galamsey, asserting that “they themselves are the illegal miners; they are the ones who have gone to buy these machines. They’ve been given access,” emphasizing that small-scale miners labeled as illegal will not be granted leases to mine in forest reserves.
He pointed out that those involved in galamsey do not have the capacity to buy excavators and other expensive equipment for illegal mining.
Sammy Gyamfi, lamented the current state of the country, describing it as painful and shameful to be a Ghanaian. He attributed this to “bad leadership, leaders with no morals, no values, no love for the country, and no commitment to patriotism.”
He accused the NPP government of coming to “steal, kill, and destroy” and claimed that the Nana Addo-Bawumia administration has scammed Ghanaians, particularly small-scale miners.
The National Communication Officer highlighted that the government’s efforts to combat illegal mining were a cover-up, intended to mislead the public.
He asserted that the government was not genuinely interested in fighting illegal mining but rather aimed to appropriate the industry for their own benefit.
The NDC National Communication Officer, noted that when the president pledged to put his presidency on the line to fight galamsey, many supported the call.
However, this led to a total ban on both legal and illegal mining activities. “After the ban, they went to various sites, including the concessions of legal small-scale miners. They burned excavators, and in some cases, they shot and killed small-scale miners,” he stated, confirming incidents in the Western and Eastern regions.
He referenced a statement by the current Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe OseiOwusu, who allegedly said that if members of Operation Vanguard saw anyone mining, they should shoot and kill them.
Sammy Gyamfi argued that after these tragic events, the government began implementing a scheme to take over the entire small-scale mining sector, granting concessions to their Chinese collaborators.
He also claimed that some seized excavators were given to party officials and NPP supporters to engage in illegal mining.
The National Communication Officer asserted that the government has done nothing to stop illegal mining, effectively making it widespread under a guise known as community mining.
After hearing about the assault on Joynews journalist, Erastus Asare Donkor by illegal miners, Sammy Gyamfi, expressed concern over the treatment of journalists.
“It is sad that they would be kidnapped, beaten, and molested for merely reporting on illegal mining,” he said.
He described galamsey as an activity that destroys water bodies, forest reserves, and the environment, endangering human life.
Sammy Gyamfi, however, stated that in any serious jurisdiction, Erastus Asare Donkor and his team would have been celebrated as heroes.
