The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has admitted that the government is currently failing in the fight against illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’.
He, however, said that the government remains unwavering in its resolve to stop ‘galamsey’ and it is confident that it will end the menace soon.
“… yes, you say that we have failed in galamsey but it is an ongoing battle. And we think that, as a government, we are going to win at the end of the day.
“Because there is a lot of goodwill amongst the stakeholders. The traditional authorities and other stakeholders know the harmful effect of galamsey on all aspects of life. So, ultimately, we will get together to control it,” Dr. Afriyie Akoto told journalists at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, October 10, 2022.
The minister also refuted the assertions that ‘galamsey’ is crippling Ghana's food production and has particularly destroyed many cocoa farms, leaving just a little.
“… if you are talking about little of cocoa, it is not a little. Galamsey is nibbling at the edges because COCOBOD has done a survey which shows that 2 percent of areas under cocoa are being affected by galamsey. 98 percent is not little left,” he noted.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has refuted suggestions that his government is not committed to the fight against illegal small-scale mining (‘galamsey’).
According to Akufo-Addo, his government has been committed to the fight against the menace since his first day in office and its determination to curb it even cost his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), some votes in the 2020 General Elections.
The president, who made these remarks at a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and some Municipal Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Kumasi, intimated that the votes he and his party lost showed that he really put his presidency on the line to fight 'galamsey'.
"Since I took office on January 7th, 2017, nearly six years ago, I have made it a central feature of my presidency to lead in the fight to rid our country of this menace, which we all now call galamsey. Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address that day. It has not been easy; it has not been popular and we have not gotten the immediate results that I was looking for.
“Indeed, in the last election of 2020, my stance on the issue cost my party and I significant losses in the mining communities. It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bumbazed nor reckless. It was the simple truth,” he said.
Akufo-Addo also urged chiefs across the country to get themselves into the fight against illegal small-scale mining since they are the custodians of land in the country.
Source: ghanaweb.com
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Thks to agric minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto for the bold innitiative
Of course, galamsey is an ongoing battle which must be won by the government at all cost. Ghanaians must love their country and save it for the future 🔮. Dr Akoto is doing fantastic job at the ministry of Agric.
Dr. Akoto, the best Agric minister so far in Africa. He has actually said it well. There is still hope for us. Let’s all join hands and fight galamsey
You see this man, you are telling us that, people are saying you have failed, which means you are not admitting failure yourself. But yet you are telling us there is hope? i don't get the rational here. So in short you have not failed, but there is hope. WTF!!!!!!!!
THIS GUY AKOTO AFRITIE IS TOTALLY ***barred word*** AGRIC MINISTER GHANA EVER HAVE AND HOPE HE DOESN'T CONTEST FOR NPP LEADERS RACE ELSE GHANA IS DOOM. WHEN YOU COME TO AUSTRALIA AGRONOMIST ARE COMMERCIAL FARMERS NOT A MINISTER. WHY GHANA CHASING PEASANT FARMING, CHINA POPULATION IS 1.4 BILLION PEOPLE HOW WILL THEY FEED THEM WITH PEASANT FARMING. GHANA WITH 30 MILLION POPULATION CANNOT FEED ITSELF WHY BECAUSE THE AGRIC MINISTER IS SO ***barred word*** DOESN'T WANT TO DO COMMERCIAL FARMING WITH PEASANT FARMING HE WILL KEEP ISSUING IMPORT LICENSE TO IMPORTERS TO IMPORT RICE INSTEAD GHANA BECOMING SELF SUFFICIENT IN RICE WITH COMMERCIAL IRRIGATED FARMING AS DONE IN VIETNAM,INDIA, CHINA, THAILAND SOUTH AFRICA, ZIMBABWEA. OH GHANA WHEN WILL THESE SO CALL LEADERS GET IT.