The founder of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining has criticised the two major political parties — the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) — for not treating illegal mining as a critical issue in their manifestos.

Dr Kenneth Ashigbey speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, stated the need for both parties to address the rampant destruction of water bodies caused by illegal mining, known locally as “galamsey.”

“We’re beginning to see turbidity levels of 14,000 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) in our rivers, which have to be treated to less than one NTU,” Dr Ashigbey lamented.

“This is a direct result of leadership failure, and neither of the two major political parties is taking this crisis seriously enough in their manifestos. Our manifestos don’t show that we are in a crisis, but we are,” he added.

Dr Ashigbey called for an immediate shift in the political focus of the NDC and NPP as they campaign to lead the country, urging them to prioritise the fight against illegal mining to save Ghana’s water bodies.

“We cannot wait until the next election to address this issue,” he argued.

“We need both parties to come together and declare that they will support actions to save our water bodies. This should not be turned into a partisan issue — it is about survival,” he stressed.

He criticized both parties for not showing enough urgency to tackle the environmental damage caused by illegal mining, which has pushed Ghana’s water bodies to the brink of extinction.

“We are now designing an ecological system to go into extinction,” he warned.

“We forget there was a Ghana before we came here, and that has to change.”

Dr Ashigbey expressed frustration over the lack of decisive actions from political leaders, comparing their inaction to the firm leadership demonstrated by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who has punished chiefs in his jurisdiction involved in illegal mining.

“If the king of Ashanti can take action against his own chiefs, what stops our political leaders from doing the same?” he questioned.

He also urged all Ghanaians to demand accountability from their political leaders and to call for stronger actions to protect the environment.

“We have 94 days until the next elections. Between now and then, our priority must be to preserve our water bodies and environment,” he said.

The Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, led by Dr Ashigbey, is planning new initiatives to tackle the crisis, including mobilising labour unions, religious bodies, and civil society to demand urgent action.

“We are planning a press conference to call for collective action. We need to get all parties on board to fight this together,” he announced.