The former Constituency Chairman for Afigya Kwabere South of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, popularly known as Chairman Coka, has expressed concern over the John Dramani Mahama administration’s handling of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
According to him, over 100 days into office, the government has shown that the fight against galamsey is beyond its control. He believes it is time to remove partisan politics from the issue and establish a bipartisan committee to tackle the menace effectively.
Chairman Coka further urged the government to apologise to Ghanaians for politicising the fight against illegal mining while in opposition. He said such an apology would pave the way for broader stakeholder involvement in addressing the crisis.
In a social media post, Chairman Coka said, “Mr President, Yesterday, I also wept when I saw the minister weeping because we are in a country where we do politics with every issue. I once said galamsey should not be an issue for one political party to deal with but it should be an issue for all political parties and any right-thinking Ghanaian, but at that time NDC people were calling for a state of emergency in the mining communities.”
They asked the NPP government to show leadership. Mr President, our river bodies keep getting worse and a lot of strange diseases are killing our people in the mining areas. So, Mr President, just come out and apologize to Ghanaians and call for a bipartisan committee to find a lasting solution to the galamsey menace. It is over 100 days now and it is getting worse. Help say no to galamsey. Christian council, NUGS, GJA, GBA, CSOs and others, your silence is not helping our country. My advice,” Coka posted.
