By Ashiadey Dotse
The Director of Communications for Bawumia’s 2024 campaign team, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), stating that the party has no clear plan to tackle illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
“The NDC is clueless about the fight against galamsey,” he said.
Speaking on UTV on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, Mr Aboagye said the NDC was only making noise instead of implementing serious measures to combat illegal mining. He accused the party of focusing on side issues such as attempts to remove the Chief Justice, rather than addressing core problems in the mining sector.
He challenged the NDC to take legal action if they believe companies like Akonta Mining are operating unlawfully.
“If Akonta Mining is engaged in illegal mining, take them to court and jail them. Don’t come crying to us,” he said.
Mr Aboagye reminded Ghanaians that Akonta Mining’s license was suspended in September 2022 under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government. At the time, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, directed the Forestry Commission to halt the company’s activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
He also clarified that although Akonta Mining applied for a concession in the forest, the then NPP government did not approve the request.
“The company was not granted a license for Tano Nimiri, yet some are trying to link them to illegal mining there. That’s just political PR,” Mr Aboagye said. “If the ministry believes they’ve done wrong, take them to court.”
According to Mr Aboagye, the NPP government has done more than the NDC in the fight against illegal mining. He noted that under President Akufo-Addo, 850 illegal miners have been prosecuted, with 85 already sentenced and 175 still under investigation.
He said the NDC should not pretend to be taking action while merely playing to the cameras. “If anyone deserves credit for action against Akonta Mining, it’s the NPP, not the NDC,” he stressed.
