Nii Lante Vanderpuye and President John Dramani Mahama
The National Coordinator of the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has stated that President John Dramani Mahama never promised to end illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, within the first 120 days of his presidency.
In an interview on Channel One TV, monitored by GhanaWeb on Thursday, May 8, 2025, Vanderpuye explained that the galamsey menace cannot be resolved in just a few months.
“His contract with Ghanaians cannot be fully executed within 120 days. Every reasonable person should understand that when a government says, ‘I will end galamsey,’ it is not an event, it is a process,” he remarked.
The former lawmaker noted that civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in the fight against galamsey have acknowledged the government’s intensified efforts.
“The colour of our rivers has not changed because they cannot change in just 120 days, no matter what you do. Everyone, including all these CSOs and NGOs involved in the galamsey fight, has concluded that, if for nothing else, they’ve seen significant effort being made. They’ve seen this fight escalate beyond what we saw in the past.
“They’ve also seen a strong commitment from the top, particularly from the key actors. Erastus Asare Donkor himself has concluded that, although the efforts are not perfect, he is impressed with the attitude and level of commitment shown so far in the fight to eliminate galamsey from our forests. This is not a fight that begins and ends in 120 days, and President Mahama never stated anywhere that it would,” he emphasised.
At a press conference on the same day, Thursday, May 8, 2025, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, accused the government of reneging on its promise to tackle illegal mining with urgency.
“The government’s inaction on illegal mining is not just disappointing, it is a betrayal. While in opposition, they made bold promises, but 120 days into office, not only has the government failed to act, it has also abandoned the urgency it once championed,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
JKB/MA
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