Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Special Aide for former President John Mahama, has affirmed the next government of Mahama will still grant amnesty to alleged illegal miners awaiting prosecution in jail and some convicted miners. Prior to the 2020 general election, John Mahama promised the people of Odum-Banso, a galamsey community in the Western Region that he will grant amnesty to arrested galamsey operators.
Joyce Bawa-Mogtari, spokesperson for John Mahama has affirmed the promised made by Mahama and said it is unfair that foreign nationals and government appointees implicated in the Prof Frimgpong Boateng report on illegal mining have been left scot-free, while the galamsey operators suffer jail time.
“If there are many of our brothers and sisters languishing in prisons because of galamsey, certainly this is a matter that we must look at within the context of the Frimpong Boateng Report”, she stated. She further said if people are being bandied together and thrown into prison without necessarily going before the law, and in some cases wait years for a trial, there needs to be an investigation into it for some interventions to be employed.
On addressing illegal mining in the next NDC government, she said it will serve the country’s interest to have stakeholders in communities join the the conversation and grant amnesty to the illegal mining operators other than those cited in the Frimpong Boateng report.
Furthermore, she noted that if the party wins the upcoming election, it will invest $500 million to combat the illegal mining menace, known locally as ‘galamsey’.
