Mahama spoke the truth to Ghanaians about galamsey – Paul Adom-Otchere

Host of Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV, Paul Adom-Otchere, has applauded President John Mahama’s candid position on illegal mining, arguing that the President was forthright during his media interaction on Wednesday.

Contributing to discussions on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Thursday, September 11, Adom-Otchere said the illegal mining challenge is tied not only to law enforcement but also to economic realities, which makes the idea of a state of emergency complicated and costly.

According to him, halting all mining activities under an emergency declaration could slash revenue streams from the sector. He explained that such an outcome would frustrate the Finance Ministry and place strain on the government’s fiscal position — a point he said had been made earlier by NDC Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia.

Adom-Otchere admitted that the NDC had previously sounded different while in opposition, often calling for a state of emergency on galamsey. He, however, suggested those campaign pronouncements may have been more political than realistic.

“During electioneering, politicians sometimes push hard positions even when they know the practical consequences. What Mahama has said now reflects governing realities, not campaign rhetoric,” he observed.

He added that critics may be unhappy with the President’s cautious approach, but the stance reflects the constraints of managing a country grappling with the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and fiscal stress.

President John Mahama has described the nation’s fight against illegal gold mining as a process that will take some time to see through, and not an event.

Addressing reporters during a media encounter on Wednesday night, the president said the damage caused in the last eight years has worsened Ghana’s fortunes in nipping the issue in the bud.

According to President Mahama, the menace remained an economic problem that required economic solutions as part of a strategy to ensure the country is successful in tackling it.

“There is no magic wand. “It’s going to take a lot of work to overcome it, and I didn’t expect that in eighteen months, we will declare victory in the fight [against galamsey].

“As the livelihood of about four million Ghanaians is on small-scale mining, it is going to be a process, it’s not going to be an event, but we will not give up,” the president, who stood behind the lectern, stressed to journalists.