The Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, has taken a swipe at President John Dramani Mahama over his approach to handling the illegal mining popularly known as galamsey.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews' The Pulse on Tuesday, September 30, he urged him to apologise to Ghanaians over what he described as the President’s inconsistent and insincere handling of the fight against illegal mining.

His remarks follow government’s decision to invite civil society organisations (CSOs) to a fresh dialogue on tackling the menace.

According to him, the move highlights a contradiction in President Mahama’s earlier stance on the issue.

“This clearly tells you that the President of the Republic is not minded in the fight against galamsey. When he was in a position, he had ample time to have consultations with civil society. They were not government-appointed officers of state. They were in their offices, on the streets of Ghana, speaking and agitating to the sitting president then to implement measures to solve galamsey,” Mohammed said.

According to him, then-President Mahama had acknowledged proposals from civil society in the past, including declaring a state of emergency and amending provisions in the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) that regulates small-scale mining. However, he argued, the President failed to implement those measures.

“So today, if the President is telling us that he’s now inviting CSOs, it tells you that the President himself has not been clear in his mind and is not honest with the good people of Ghana about the way he wants to deal with the issue of galamsey.

"It is a clear departure from his own position. And I don’t think that we should be applauding him. Rather, he should be apologising to the good people of Ghana,” he stated.