A member of the NDC Communications team, Hamza Suhuyini Sayibu has refuted claims circulating in the media about President Mahama’s promise to end galamsey within his first three months in office.
He stated that these claims are only being foisted on President Mahama.
Suhuyini Sayibu asserted that President Mahama did not make a pledge to end galamsey as part of his 120-days social contract to Ghanaians.
Speaking in an interview on TV3’s New Day, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, Suhuyini Sayibu noted that the President has always maintained that the fight against galamsey needed a holistic and sustainable approach.
“We never made a promise that we were going to end galamsey menace in a matter of weeks or three months, we never said so.
“In every step of the way President Mahama made his stands clear against galasmey and indicated that just like we confronted the issue of dumsor under him, we needed a sustainable and holistic approach if indeed as a country we are committed to resolving galamsey.
“We made it clear that in order to effectively deal with the menace of galamsey, we needed a holistic strategy and sustainable approach to the fight against galamsey,” he explained.
He said nowhere in the NDC’s 120-day social contract did the President make a promise to end galamsey within months.
“It is not for nothing that if you go through our first 120-day pledge that we made. You do not see anywhere in those 26 promises where President Mahama has said that ‘I will end illegal mining in a matter of 120 days.’
“We could have said that because we knew that the fight is tedious and we knew that for us to succeed there was the need for us to put in place measures that could be sustainable in the fight that is why we did not make that promise,” he added.
The Western Central Regional Police Command on 31st March 2025 arrested eleven suspects for illegal mining activities along the Bonsa river bank in the Western Region.
The suspects, comprising seven Ghanaians and four Chinese, were arrested through sustained intelligence-led operations against illegal mining activities.
On April 1, 2025, five illegal miners were confirmed dead after a pit they were digging for gold collapsed. Several others were trapped.
The tragic incident occurred at an illegal mining site in Mpasatia, Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region.
According to a resident, Nana Nkansah, two of the victims have been retrieved and confirmed dead at the Afari Hospital.
Another three, who were retrieved later, were all confirmed dead at the disaster scene.
These developments have prompted stakeholders to question government’s strategy and action against illegal mining in the country.
Meanwhile, President Mahama has launched The Tree for Life initiative which seeks to create awareness about the importance of trees in protecting the environment, combat the effects of climate change, restore lands and rivers degraded by galamsey activities, and instill in Ghanaian youth a spirit and desire to protect the environment.
Also, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, has launched the Blue Water River Guard training program, an innovative module under the Blue Water Initiative which will equip 2,000 Ghanaian youth with the skills and knowledge necessary to safeguard Ghana’s river bodies effectively.
The first phase of the project will involve 400 young Ghanaian men and women undergoing rigorous training by the Ghana Navy Riverine Command under the auspices of the Minerals Commission. This training will provide them with the expertise needed to combat illegal mining operations on river bodies.
Source: 3news.com