President Akufo-Addo has vowed not to shield anyone (MMDCES) found culpable of engaging in illegal mining popularly known as galamsey.
At a meeting with the MMDCES to find a solution to the galamsey menace, the president noted persisted allegations are being made about the involvement of some MMDCEs in the act.
“I am not here to threaten anybody, but I want you to know that this is a struggle that I take very seriously and I will not be in a position to protect anybody against who evidence is massed up about their complicity in this matter…I am a lawyer and I always deal with facts and when the facts are brought against you, you will be invited to comment on them, Akufo-Addo said.
“If the response is not satisfactory, you can guess to yourself what the consequences will be.” .
“Since I assumed office in 2017 I have made it a central feature of my presidency to lead in the efforts to rid our country of this menace, which we all now call galamsey. Indeed, it was an important aspect of my inaugural address of that day”.
“It turned out that my statement that I was putting my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey was neither bombast nor recklessness. It was a simple truth.”
The President is nevertheless committed to fulfilling the promise he made to Ghanaians to bring an end to the menace.
“I ask you all to join hands with me in the fight against illegal mining, in order to bring an end to the devastation of our landscape and the pollution of water bodies. We have to win that fight to keep our environment clean and protect our land and waters,” he told the chiefs.
It will be recalled that President Akufo-Addo in July 2017 put his presidency on the line with a commitment to end the illegal small-scale mining in Ghana.