Galamsey caused us a lot – Kwadwo Poku

The Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Policies and Research, Kwadwo Nsafoah Poku, has attributed the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) loss of several parliamentary seats in key mining areas to the party’s aggressive crackdown on illegal mining, known as galamsey.

According to Mr. Poku, the NPP’s bold measures to combat galamsey came at a significant political cost.

“In 2017, when Nana Addo came into office, he suspended all small-scale mining across the country, both legal and illegal. The suspension lasted approximately 20 months.

Operation Vanguard was also deployed with 400 military and police officers to enforce the ban,” Mr. Poku explained.

The measures, though well-intentioned, had a devastating impact on mining communities.
“The mining communities were crying that, look, that’s our livelihood. They are not getting money. People kept saying there was a cascading effect, and traders and others in those areas all suffered,” he added.

The NPP’s electoral losses in mining areas were significant, with the party losing all 54 polling stations in Juaboso and the Upper Denkyira West seat, which it had previously held.

“We also lost Upper Denkyira West, a seat we had always held, because the galamsey people were going around giving people money to vote against us,” Mr. Poku said.

“Nana Addo said he would stake his presidency on fighting galamsey. But when we went to the polls in 2020, we lost the majority of our seats in the mining areas,” he noted.

The NDC capitalized on the frustrations of affected communities, promising a more relaxed approach to mining.

“The NDC told the people, vote for us, and we will not stop your mining. That carried forward into 2024,” Mr. Poku said. He expressed skepticism about the NDC’s new initiatives, saying, “The only thing they have implemented is the GoldBod. Even their new Blue Water Guards will not succeed, because if 400 soldiers couldn’t stop the destruction of our rivers, people in T-shirts won’t either.”

The galamsey issue remains contentious in Ghana, with both parties adopting different approaches to address the problem. While the NPP has taken an enforcement-driven approach, the NDC has been accused of being more lenient.