Kwabena Agyepong, a senior campaign advisor to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of using the illegal mining issue, commonly referred to as “galamsey,” as a political distraction ahead of the December 7 general elections. He made these remarks during an interview on Channel One TV’s *The Point of View* on Monday, October 7, 2024.

Agyepong suggested that the NDC is deliberately focusing on the galamsey problem in an attempt to undermine the Akufo-Addo administration as the elections approach. According to him, the opposition party is amplifying the issue to shift public attention away from their lack of a solid campaign message.

He acknowledged that galamsey is indeed a serious issue but insisted that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has made significant strides in combating it through various initiatives. Agyepong also argued that the NDC’s current criticism is merely an effort to distract from their own past failures in addressing illegal mining when they were in power.

“If you have genuine concerns,” Agyepong remarked, “you will not be creating or orchestrating chaos in the country. At that time, all the people making noise—were they not in this country? So what has changed? That 60 days to elections, what has changed in the heat of a campaign?”

He further questioned the timing of the opposition’s focus on the issue, suggesting that if their concerns were sincere, they would have presented a concrete plan and engaged with the NPP to address it constructively. “We have elections,” he said, “if it’s a genuine concern, then the proponents of that should have a plan and sit with the two key parties. What is happening is very sad for our country. We don’t do galamsey in Accra. If you are serious about it, you’ve to go to the areas and engage with the people.”

Recently, the government has come under increased pressure to take stronger action against illegal mining, with Organised Labour leading the charge. They have urged President Akufo-Addo to declare a state of emergency on the galamsey issue and have threatened a nationwide strike on October 10, 2024, if no significant action is taken.

In response to these demands, Agyepong pointed out that John Dramani Mahama, the NDC’s flagbearer, has not put forward any clear policies to address galamsey. He contrasted this with Dr. Bawumia’s approach, which he claimed includes specific plans to tackle illegal mining.

The government, in a recent announcement, also expressed its intention to revoke the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2462) when Parliament reconvenes. This move is aimed at strengthening the legal framework governing mining activities in protected areas. Additionally, the government reiterated its commitment to declaring water bodies and forest reserves as “Red Zones” for mining, promising stricter enforcement measures to eliminate illegal operations in these regions.

Agyepong concluded by emphasizing that the NPP government remains committed to resolving the galamsey issue, despite what he sees as the opposition’s attempts to politicize the matter.