Former NPP Member of Parliament for Obuasi East, Edward Michael Ennin, has voiced his frustration over the galamsey (illegal mining) crisis in Ghana.
He slammed both major political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for their failure to address the issue effectively.
In an interview on Okay FM, Ennin emphasized that the blame should not be placed on political parties but on the individuals responsible for the illegal activities.
He called for a more direct approach to tackling the perpetrators rather than politicizing the issue.
“I do not understand why we are blaming political parties for this. These are individuals responsible for this, let’s tackle them and stop talking about parties. It is a very stupid thing to do.
“It’s about time we sit up and tell both political parties that this stupid thing is destroying the country. Fuck them all!” he said.
He recounted how both the NDC and NPP governments had promised to combat galamsey but failed to deliver due to interference from powerful individuals.
Ennin highlighted the challenges faced by soldiers deployed to stop illegal mining, noting that they often received calls from those in power instructing them to release captured galamseyers.
He accused politicians of being involved in illegal activities, making it difficult to eradicate the menace.
“When NDC was in power, they promised to deal with this calamity. They would send soldiers, but the soldiers wouldn’t be able to do anything because when they capture someone, they get calls from those in power telling them to let the galamseyers go.
“Same with the NPP when they came into power. Most of those doing this are in leadership,” he said.
He called for an end to the political interference that hinders the fight against galamsey, saying, “Those politicians claiming to stop this menace are involved, it will be difficult to stop. Until they stop that nonsense they are doing, we can’t stop galamsey.”
