President of the Professionals Forum of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sam Pee Yalley, has appealed to Ghanaians to give the NDC government time to properly engage stakeholders in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

Mr Yalley highlighted the complexity of the illegal mining issue and the need for thoughtful engagement before implementing policies.

"We’re dealing with a matter that a former President promised his Presidency and nothing happened. What the Minister said, he was just passing and the pressmen accosted him and he said do you know what, since taking office I have seen this problem. If you don't know the problem how do you tackle it?" he quizzed on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday, February 22.

He also criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for rushing to judge the NDC's early steps in tackling illegal mining adding that the current administration is still in the process of fully understanding the scope of the problem.

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"You burnt excavators, you shot people but nothing happened. Give us time to engage the stakeholders," he noted.

On the potential solutions, Public interest advocate, Rodaline Imoru Ayarna expressed support for bold actions, including possibly declaring a state of emergency.