President Nana Akufo-Addo has conceded that his government has not succeeded in the fight against illegal mining in the country.

He stated that the fight against the canker will continue because he has not yet succeeded.

“Since I took office on 7^th January, 2017, nearly 6 years ago, I have made it the central feature of my presidency to lead in the efforts to rid our country of this menace which we all now call 'galamsey'.

“Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address of that day. It has not been easy, it has not been popular, but we have not got the immediate result that I was looking for,” he said.

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He made this remark while addressing the leadership of the National House of Chiefs at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Wednesday.

According to President Akufo-Addo, his government “has tried many initiatives including that of the community mining scheme and the establishment of a new legal scheme for dealing with perpetrators …. still we have not won the fight.”

President Akufo-Addo noted that the fight against galamsey cost his party “a significant loss in the mining community” in the 2020 elections.

“It turned out that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bombast nor recklessness, it was a simple truth," he added.

https://www.myjoyonline.com/help-take-partisanship-out-of-galamsey-fight-akufo-addo-to-national-house-of-chiefs/

In the meantime, President Akufo-Addo has appealed to the National House of Chiefs to take partisanship out of the 'galamsey' fight.

The President said the fight is a national battle and must precede all other interests which he stressed is the only way the fight can be won.

“There are many issues I intend to beg of you during the close door session of our meeting, but one of the most significant which I have to state now is to seek your assistance to take partisan political interest out of the fight against galamsey.

“It can only succeed if it’s a truly national battle which no one seeks to exploit for political gains as we saw in the last election,” he said at a meeting with the National House of Chiefs on Wednesday, October 5.

President Akufo-Addo also entreated Ghanaians to help deal with the canker.

According to him, the menace poses an existential threat to the future of the country.

“The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all fellow Ghanaians pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future,” he added.