The Convener of Eco-Conscious Citizens, Awula Serwah has taken a swipe at President Akufo-Addo over his comment that the ban on illegal mining is yielding results in the country.

This follows President Akufo-Addo's addressing to the 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, during which he touted the achievements of his government, including what he said were positive outcomes from the ban on illegal mining, popularly known as 'galamsey' in the country.

According to him, the ban on the menace has helped the country reduce its carbon emissions.

Read also: https://myjoyonline.com/ban-on-galamsey-yielding-results-carbon-emissions-reduced-akufo-addo/

But Madam Serwah does not agree with his claim.

According to her, the policies are not working because they are not being enforced.

She added that it is “Unacceptable for the president to give an impression which is just an illusion.”  

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ The Probe on Wednesday, she said: “I am extremely angry. I mean what we are doing is supervising mass murder because we know the consequences of what we do and then to have the guts to sit at a conference and then say that the policies are working is beyond belief.

“We can all see what is going on, and some are engaged in a fantasy world pretending that policies are working. We know what to do, we should just do it."

“We have Prof Frimpong Boateng’s report, no action has been taken. We have the destruction for gold documentary, no action has been taken. What else do we need to wake up to the fact that we are supervising our own destruction, because we all know that when the last tree dies, the last man dies,” she added.

According to her, instead of contemplating sending troops to Niger, the government should rather focus on what is happening in the country.

“We want to send the military to remove all illegal miners from galamsey sites and use technology to notify you when someone enters the forest reserve,” she stated.

The Convener of Eco-Conscious Citizens also called for the repeal of L.I. 2462 to make the forest reserve a no-go area.

She further urged government to act on former Chairman of the defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof Kwabena Frimpong Boateng’s report.