A former flagbearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwadwo Poku has questioned why sime members of the public have chosen to hold demonstrations in Accra over illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

According to the energy expert, he finds it worrying that protests are being held in Accra when there’s no such activity going on in the capital city.

Speaking during a panel discussion on TV 3 monitored by GhanaWeb, Kwadwo Poku urged persons leading demonstrations against illegal mining to do so in arears affected by the menace.

“Let us not sit in Accra and demonstrate. I am very sad to see people demonstrating in Accra when the real work is being done in the mining areas. The people doing galamsey is not government, it is the youth in the communities who are doing it. What I am saying to you is that the fight is on today…hold on, has armed robbery stopped, has the police not been fighting armed robber? What I am saying is that in certain areas we have what is called community neighborhood watch committees. Why do we have this committee in some areas, it is because the police is doing some, but it is not enough for the community so they have their own neighborhood watch committees.

“What I am saying is that people who want galamsey to stop should go to the communities and educate, and stop being double-mouthed. They should go to the communities and demonstrate in those areas still armed robbery in Ghana.”

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced punitive measures against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

These include directing soldiers and other law enforcement agencies to flush out illegal miners from water bodies and forest reserves which remain “red zones” to mining activities.

As part of the measures, the President has directed that immediate steps be taken to revoke the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L. I. 2462), when Parliament reconvenes this month.

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