Honesty, patriotism key to ending galamsey – Sulemana Braimah

Chief Executive Officer of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, says ending illegal mining in Ghana will require honesty and a strong sense of patriotism from the country's two major political parties.

He believes the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) must demonstrate genuine commitment to the fight rather than allow partisan interests to undermine efforts to address the menace.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 31, Mr Braimah said both parties were aware that some of their members were involved in illegal mining but continued to politicise the issue.

He argued that the two parties also understood that ending galamsey would not be easy, given the interests and networks sustaining the practice.

He said only a commitment to honesty and patriotism, with both parties willing to put the national interest above political considerations, could help bring an end to illegal mining.

"What it takes [To end galamsey], for me at this stage, is honesty and a sense of patriotism. If the NDC today would want to tell Ghanaians that we knew what the problem was, we knew the fight was going to be difficult, but maybe we did politics with it to come to power, maybe we will all understand. The NPP can also acknowledge so that, together as a country, we confront what our common enemy is," he said.

He therefore called on the NDC and NPP to demonstrate sincerity and take collective responsibility for tackling the menace.