Former President John Dramani Mahama has stated that if elected president, he will release all people who have been arrested for engaging in illicit mining activities, also known as “galamsey.”
The former president promised that he would see to it that individuals who had been detained for galamsey would be released and given the opportunity to carry on with their illicit mining endeavors during an interaction with a group of NDC members.
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“Eye Zu! When we win power, all those arrested for engaging in galamsey would be given amnesty for them to come back. We believe that whatever law they flouted, they’re remorseful so we shall free them and give them another chance to work as galamseyers” Mahama promised.
Following the re-arrest of Chinese galamsey queen Aisha Huang, who had returned to the country after being presumed to have been expelled to China, discussions regarding the fight against galamsey have become more intense.
The Akufo-Addo administration has come under fire from the previous president for neglecting to take serious action against galamsey in an interview with TV3.
The same person is featured in this video pledging to free everyone who has broken our mining rules and been imprisoned while also allowing them to resume their illicit mining activities.
Then-candidate Mahama sent individuals like Dr. Tony Aubynn, Kwaku Boahen, and Michael Kwadwo Peprah into galamsey-prone areas in the run-up to the 2020 elections to persuade them to vote for him because he would permit them to perform their galamsey if he won the polls. The previous president has frequently urged people to participate in galamsey.
This administration has already invested millions of dollars in its war against galamsey. This strongly suggests that the former President does not support the battle against illegal mining because it comes from him.