The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will hold a press conference Sunday on the havoc caused by galamsey despite the war on the environmental menace.

Today’s press conference, according to the NDC will focus “on the havoc of the failed galamsey fight and President Nana Akufo-Addo’s role as Co-Chair of the SDGs Advocates group.”

The press conference is scheduled to begin at 1 pm and will be streamed live on Joy News (TV), the NDC communication Bureau page on Facebook and Twitter among others.  The press conference today comes in the wake of assertions that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has failed the fight against illegal mining, contrary to his promise to Ghanaians. These assertions follow reports that confiscated excavators and other equipment being used by illegal miners have gone missing. The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP)’s Central Region Vice Chair, Horace Ekow Ewusi, was recently picked up by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) over his alleged role in the missing excavators and other equipment seized from illegal mining operators. The NDC released this cartoon ahead of today’s press conference. His arrest follows a request made by the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Professor Frimpong Boateng to the police. Six other persons have been arrested and are being investigated by the CID following a complaint lodged by the same Minister -- who is also the chairman of the anti-galamsey taskforce set up by the President. Last year, a Secretary to the taskforce, Charles Bissue, was captured in a video allegedly taking monies to help an unlicensed company to circumvent laid down processes to be given clearance for its mining operations. These outcomes have caused some, particularly members of the Minority in Parliament and members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to suggest that the Presidency-led fight on galamsey is a sham because most of the culprits have affiliations with the governing party or government.