Let's Help the President To Stop Galamsey - Sam Pyne Urges Ghanaians

The Metropolitan Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Sam Pyne, has appealed to all Ghanaians to commit to the fight against the galamsey menace.

Joining Thursday's panel on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme, the KMA Boss urged the citizenry to assist the President in achieving his vision of eradicating the menace.

The President, on Wendnesday, October 5, 2022, held a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and MMDCEs at Manhyia in Kumasi, Ashanti Region.

President Nana Addo urged the Chiefs, MMDCEs and the entire nation to collaborate on stopping the menace.

"We have tried many initiatives, including that of the Community Mining Scheme, and the establishment of a new legal regime for dealing with the perpetrators of this phenomenon, which has imposed severe sanctions on those, Ghanaians and foreigners, convicted of illegal mining. Still, we have not won the fight.

"It is obvious that, if we are to win the fight, it would require a collaborative effort to do so. The fight against Galamsey can only succeed if it is a truly national battle, which no one seeks to exploit for political gain, as we saw in the last election. The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all Fellow Ghanaians, pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future", he said.

Reiterating the stance of government, President Akufo-Addo noted that “we are not against mining, but we cannot accept mining in a manner that risks destroying our country. Our nation has always been a mining nation. Indeed, in the 15th century, when the first Europeans, the Portuguese, came to our shores, they called the first European-influenced town, Elmina, meaning ‘the mine’ in Portuguese, because, from their ships as they approached our shores, that is the activity they saw our people engaged in. it is not surprising that, in colonial times, we were called the Gold Coast.”

He, thus, asked all Ghanaians to join hands with him in the fight against illegal mining asserting “we have to win that fight to keep our environment clean, and protect our heritage for our descendants, as you did in the past”.

Sam Pyne also pleads with Ghanaians to heed the President's call saying, "it is the responsibility of all of us to ensure the right thing is done".

"The soldiers that we are deploying to do the job should be truthful to the nation . . . Let's charge those we have placed in charge of the job to be sincere, true and nationalistic ensuring a better future for the country," he added.