General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, believes government's quest to stop illegal mining activities in some mining communities, especially in Tarkwa in the Western Region, affected its performance in the 2020 general elections.

According to him, even though the NPP did well in the Presidential Election, the Parliamentary Election didn’t go well for the party due to the government’s decision to make sure that illegal mining is stopped.

Speaking on Okay FM’s "Ade Akye Abia" Morning Show, the NPP Chief Scribe noted that inasmuch as the decision although politically affected of the government, it was made for the greater good of the country to protect the environment.

"We as NPP, we will not use political expediency to take a decision that will have dire consequences in the future on our lands by allowing illegal mining activities to continue because of votes," he stated.

He, however, concedes that the ban on illegal mining activities largely contributed to the unemployment situation.

To address this, he revealed, the Akufo-Addo government has decided to launch on 27th October, 2021 an alternative programme at Tarkwa that will directly provide close to 20,000 jobs for people in those mining communities, while also promoting best mining practices.

"This is going to provide close to 20,000 jobs for those who have been displaced as a result of making sure that best practices of mining are adhered to. In addition to that, community mining will be enhanced by providing equipment that will be used for mining that will be environmentally acceptable . . .

“As we speak, the government has procured 200 processing machines for the community mining that after digging the grounds will be used to process the gold from the sand. This will make mining activities to be done in an acceptable way,” he indicated.