Dennis Miracles Aboagye, an aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has called on government to immediately discontinue the purchase of gold sourced from illegal miners, popularly known as galamsey.
His comments follow the shutdown of the Kwanyako Headworks on the Ayensu River due to heavy pollution from illegal mining activities. Speaking during a visit to the site, Mr. Aboagye expressed alarm over President John Mahama’s recent admission that a significant portion of Ghana’s gold exports may be sourced from galamsey.
“During the recent media engagement, the president said that indeed he could be buying gold from galamseyers to as much as $4 billion out of the $6 billion he has exported. That for us is a cause for concern,” he said.
According to him, if the state’s revenue streams are heavily dependent on illegally mined gold, the current administration would have little incentive to clamp down on the practice.
“If the president is giving us such an indication, and that is what he is anchoring his government’s transformation plan on, then we cannot trust and believe that he is going to put measures in place to end galamsey. Because, should he succeed, what he is telling us is that he may be short of $4 billion out of $6 billion export,” he argued.
Mr. Aboagye urged President Mahama and the governing NDC to prioritise citizens’ welfare and environmental protection over monetary gains.
“We are begging the president and the NDC government to prioritise our lives and the environment over money. We are not interested in how much money he is getting from these criminals. He should stop buying the gold from the criminals and get them off our river bodies so we can get water to drink,” he stressed.