The founder of the Danquah Institute says posterity will not be kind to President Akufo-Addo and other leaders should they fail to end illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey in the country.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko said that judgement will be legitimately so.
He said it is the duty of the current leaders to ensure future generations are not deprived of the natural resources.
In a tweet on Thursday, he stated the fight against the menace should be ended.
“I remember this tweet very well and the import of my post remains valid today as it was yesterday and for our President, our leaders, and our society.
“Posterity will surely judge us meanly and legitimately so if we do not protect for future generations what was bequeathed to us,” he said.
His comments were in a response to an earlier tweet of his in 2017 which has resurfaced due to the galamsey conversation currently ongoing.
In the said tweet, Mr Otchere-Darko said, “Posterity shall not give Akufo-Addo and our generation if we don’t win the war against galamsey.
Government has been fighting illegal mining for many years, but the efforts and investments have all proved futile.
Five years ago, the Akufo-Addo government launched a joint Police and soldier taskforce named ‘Operation Vanguard’ to rid the country of illegal miners.
It was during the launch that the President made his famous statement, “I am prepared to put my presidency on the line on this matter.”
Despite the massive public support, the impact of the operation was minuscule.
Fast forward to 2019, the government established ‘Operation Halt’ to end the illegal exploitation of another natural resource, timber, especially in the Brong-Ahafo and Western regions, and the unrestrained destruction of forest reserves because of illegal mining, farming and lumbering.
The operation was relaunched in 2022.
However, Ghanaians are skeptical about government’s commitment to the cause since a JoyNews investigative piece, Destruction for Gold, has uncovered that some NPP stalwarts are engaged in the act.
But President Akufo-Addo says his government is committed to eradicating the canker root and stem.
He stressed that traditional leaders should not relent in the fight adding that “we have to win the fight to save our environment.”
