The Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Mary Awalena Addah, has said that the fight against illegal mining in the country has hitherto been hindered by greed and political conflict, a situation she has advised against in the new John Mahama administration.

Speaking on Newsfile with Samson Lardy Anyenini on Saturday, following the President's caveat for none of his officials to engage in illegal mining, she commended the president's declaration but expressed concern that the issues of the past could recur.

"From past experiences, it becomes very difficult for us to say with certainty that we have faith this will happen. We will only have faith when we begin to see tangible results. However, we have a solid case that the President can act upon, and the Minister for Lands should be able to address this swiftly.

"Because, in the past, we have witnessed successive politicisation of the issue, and in some instances, even traditional authorities have been involved in ensuring that illegal activities continue. We have also seen consistent greed within the political class, and a lack of accountability when it comes to addressing infractions, which has led to conflicts."

The issue of galamsey persists, as JoyNews' environmental journalist, Erastus Asare Donkor recently reported on galamsey activities allegedly carried out by members of the NDC. Following this report, Erastus mentioned that he has received numerous threats.

For her part, Mary Awalena Addah stated that she can only have faith the menace will end when those in authority begin to take decisive actions. "When people's lives are protected by the security forces, and not put at risk."

She emphasised that the problem persists due to "a lack of accountability, stemming from the persistent greed of the political class in this instance."