The Minority in Parliament has accused the Akufo-Addo administration of spending huge sums of money on the defunct galamsey committee.

According to the NDC members on the Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament, government has also failed to account for funds disbursed in the fight against galamsey in the 2024 Budget.

While addressing the media, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Lands and Forestry Committee, Alhassan Suhuyini, said government must account for the over $30 million allocated to the defunct inter-ministerial committee quarterly.

“Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves why, this time in the budget statement, not even once has the ‘galamsey’ word been mentioned? After we have spent millions of Ghana cedis. The Inter-ministerial committee was allocated $30 million every quarter, and they operated for three years.”

“That should tell you how much money has gone down the drain; they blew GH¢5.4 million just to interact on ‘galamsey.’ The question is, to what end? What are the benefits that we have from all of these?” Mr. Alhassan Suhuyini asked.

Background

In 2021, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo dissolved the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).

IMCIM was established by government to clamp down on illegal small mining also known as galamsey which was causing havoc to the country’s water resources and lands.

The Committee was headed by the former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

According to statements from the Presidency, the President has also decided to move the fight against illegal mining from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry.