‘We all failed our nation’ – Afenyo-Markin on politicization of galamsey fight
Member of Parliament for Effutu and Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has expressed concern over what he describes as the politicisation of the fight against illegal gold mining, commonly known as galamsey.
He attributed part of the challenge to political messaging during the 2020 general elections, suggesting that statements from the then-opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) contributed to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) loss in key mining communities.
His comments come amid renewed calls from stakeholders for decisive and unified action to end illegal mining across the country.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) on Ghana’s natural resource management regime on Tuesday, October 7, Mr. Afenyo-Markin stressed the need for collaboration and a shift in national attitude toward resource protection.
“During the 2020 campaign, the message was that they [NPP] came to take your food away, so vote against them. And the debate kept going to where we are. If we do the blame game thing, we will not get anywhere,” he said.
The Minority Leader argued that the issue transcends partisan politics and requires a unified national approach.
“I think it goes beyond the NPP, NDC arguments. I think as a nation, we need a whole national orientation.
“Frankly speaking, I think we all failed our nation. We have to let the authorities know that we have no other alternatives; this must stop,” he stated.
