Franklin Cudjoe casts doubts over Akufo-Addo’s commitment to fighting galamsey

The founding president of IMANI-Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has cast doubt on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s commitment to fighting the canker of illegal mining, otherwise known as galamsey.

According to the policy advisor, the president, contrary to the expectations of Organized Labour, has shown clearly that he is not committed to fighting the menace.

“I am happy that when they (Organized Labour) went, they told him that all the things you are saying, put it on paper. When I heard it, I was laughing. I said even if you put it on paper, he won’t do foko… Even if he draws blood and signs, he won’t do it.

“Somebody spent seven years and nine months to disregard everybody on the galamsey issue, issued more mining licenses than ever before, and there are people, excuse my language, foolishly asking why it is only two months ago that the waters are muddying because it was the NDC who brought people to mine, forgetting that it is their own people who issued mining licenses without guardrails and there is mining everywhere,” he told Radio Gold in an interview.

Franklin Cudjoe was speaking on the back of a meeting between the leadership of Organized Labour and the president following a notification by the labour union to embark on a strike in protest of the government’s inaction on galamsey.

“They should not fall for the president’s charm; there is even nothing charming about him again. I don’t know why they should go in the first place. Well, they went out of respect because he is the president, but personally… I would have turned the invitation down except that it is personal and I am talking about a friend I know personally. If he had invited me, I would have said, ‘No, Mr. President, you have lost the plot.’ That’s what I would have told him nicely,” Franklin Cudjoe said.

Amidst the current discussion on illegal mining, President Akufo-Addo has come under heavy criticism for failing to take decisive action against the canker.

In recent weeks, there has been increasing pressure on the government to take stronger action against illegal mining. Organized Labour has been at the forefront of these demands, calling on President Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency on galamsey and threatening to embark on a nationwide strike on October 10, 2024, if the government does not take more decisive action.

Meanwhile, the government, in a statement dated October 7, 2024, announced its intention to revoke the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2462) when Parliament reconvenes. This move aims to bolster the legal framework regulating mining activities in protected areas.

Furthermore, the government reiterated its commitment to declaring water bodies and forest reserves as “Red Zones” for mining, with stricter enforcement measures planned to eliminate illegal operations in these regions.

Source: ghanaweb