New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has criticised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government over its handling of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, insisting that there is currently “no fight” against the menace.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews Desk, the lawmaker questioned the effectiveness of ongoing efforts to deal with illegal mining, saying that the condition of the country’s polluted water bodies shows little evidence of progress.

“There’s no fight. Where is the fight?” he asked.

Mr Awuah said the true measure of success in the fight against galamsey should be visible results rather than public statements or promises.

“You see, I have a Nigerian client who once jokingly told me, ‘I don’t reward effort. I reward results.’ Where are the results?” he stated.

According to him, Ghana’s rivers and water bodies remain heavily polluted despite claims that institutions are working to tackle the problem.

"If the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) is doing well, our water bodies should be impacted by now."

“The water bodies are there for everyone to see. They are coloured water bodies, heavily coloured water bodies,” he said.

The Manhyia South MP also called on the media to play a stronger role in holding leaders accountable and presenting the realities on the ground to the public.

“There are things that I believe that very respectfully the media, as the fourth estate of the realm, should be able to help regulate by way of pointing us to the right or the truth,” he said.

“So that everybody will see who is doing well, who is not doing well, and then nobody will pull a yarn through our eyes and take advantage of it.”

Mr Awuah, who defended the anti-galamsey efforts of the previous Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration, said that no government in recent history had fought illegal mining more aggressively.

“Look, you may dislike Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, but I don’t think that in recent history any government has fought galamsey as Nana Addo did,” he stated.

He pointed to the nationwide ban on small-scale mining introduced during the Akufo-Addo administration as evidence of government commitment to addressing the issue.

“It is not a matter of dispute that there was a ban on mining activities in this country,” he said.

Mr Awuah also said that several policies were introduced during the ban period to promote responsible mining practices.

“Policies were fashioned out to ensure responsible mining,” he explained.

The MP said that mining remains crucial to Ghana’s economy and should not be completely discouraged, but rather properly regulated.

“Mining is very critical to our economy,” he stated.

“In fact, if you read from experts, particularly when it comes to mining governance, our key as a nation out of poverty is mining.”

He said that stronger governance structures were needed to ensure the country benefits more from its mineral resources, especially because foreign mining companies often transfer profits outside Ghana.

“We need to make sure that we have a lot of governance in that sector because when you are foreigners, they repatriate their funds out of the country,” he said.

According to him, the focus should be on responsible mining that protects the environment while still supporting economic growth.

“We need to sit down and find a way to ensure that people mine responsibly because we need people to also mine to grow our economy,” he said.

“In my humble view, that is what God has given us to grow as a people. We should do it in a manner that doesn’t affect our lives because the environment is life,” he added.

Mr Awuah further said that although the Akufo-Addo and Mahamudu Bawumia administration made mistakes in the fight against galamsey, their achievements were overshadowed by criticism.

“Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Dr Bawumia administration did a lot,” he said.

“However, there were some shortfalls, and those shortfalls were blown to cover the good deeds that they had done in the industry.”

He claimed the NDC capitalised on public dissatisfaction over those shortcomings to win political support and return to office.

“Rather than sitting down, identifying the shortfalls and encouraging the government to address those shortfalls, we made it seem as though the government had done nothing and the NDC took advantage of it and came into office,” he said.