The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has criticized President Akufo-Addo's claim that he would risk his presidency to end illegal mining, calling it a scam.

Mr Gyamfi said illegal mining is threatening access to clean water and poses severe consequences for Ghanaians in the coming years if not addressed.

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He accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of misleading both the media and the public with their promises regarding illegal mining, suggesting that Ghanaians were deceived and that the NPP's intentions have been to carry out a harmful agenda.

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Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Dr Clifford Braimah, has warned of a potential severe water crisis if inefficiencies in water treatment are not urgently addressed.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, he expressed concern over the high-water loss during treatment, which is currently between 35% and 50%, far exceeding the acceptable 5% and posing a serious health risk.

Mr Gyamfi said, “What the NPP came to do was to kill, to steal, and to destroy. They had no genuine commitment to the fight against illegal mining, and the flowery talk you heard from President Akufo-Addo about putting the presidency on the line was all a scam. There was no commitment to fight illegal mining in the first place; in fact, there was no fight.”

Mr Gyamfi said that the plan was to remove Ghanaians involved in small-scale mining and let NPP loyalists and government officials take over the illegal mining trade.

He noted that the media, civil society, and the public were deceived into believing the NPP's promises about addressing illegal mining, and they fell for it.

“That is why they have been able to implement this evil game plan to the letter: because they were not being checked. But we saw through the deception right from the get-go and we told you, we warned that these guys are not committed to the illegal mining fight.”