Akufo-Addo prioritising election win over galamsey fight – Vanderpuye

Member of Parliament for Odododiodoo, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has accused President Akufo-Addo of intentionally avoiding decisive action against illegal mining, or galamsey, due to concerns over losing electoral support.

Mr. Vanderpuye’s remarks come in the wake of growing demands for the government to declare a state of emergency and impose a ban on small-scale mining due to the severe damage inflicted on water bodies by these activities.

In an interview on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue, Vanderpuye criticized the government’s perceived lack of leadership in addressing the galamsey crisis.

He suggested that, political considerations have taken precedence over effective governance, referencing the 2020 elections when anti-galamsey measures allegedly led to a loss of votes. Vanderpuye accused government officials of prioritizing electoral gains over tackling the pressing environmental issue.

“The resolution lies in leadership and that is what has been lacking under this government. The problem of this catastrophe that we are having is absolutely lack of leadership. The government has already been explicit that they are not going to solve this problem because when they tried in 2020, they lost votes.”

“Various government officials have said that they cannot continue to lose votes because they are in government for two things.  They have that clear, one is to win the election and two to govern the country.

“The only way they can govern the country is to win the election by making sure that where they are losing votes, they win votes.”