By Prosper Kwaku Selassy Agbitor
The Member of Parliament for Kwabre East Constituency, Onyina-Acheampong Kwasi Gyamfi, has expressed concern over the repeated failures in the fight against illegal mining, attributing them to excessive politicization of the issue.
Hon. Gyamfi lamented that successive governments have continued to politicize the fight against illegal mining, which he described as a heartbreaking and persistent national struggle. He urged the John Dramani Mahama-led government to depoliticize the fight in order to effectively reclaim the country’s forests and water bodies.
“Until we remove politics from this fight, our efforts will not yield results,” he stressed.
The MP also reiterated his call for the declaration of a state of emergency in areas severely affected by illegal mining. He further called on the government to create alternative job opportunities for those engaged in illegal mining activities.
“The illegal mining menace is, for many, a livelihood issue. People need to survive, so the government must work to create alternative means of income for those involved,” he said.
Hon. Gyamfi also emphasized the importance of reclaiming degraded lands to create agricultural opportunities and called for strict enforcement to ensure that no one tampers with the reclamation process.
His comments underscore the complexity of the illegal mining issue and the need for a holistic approach to address it.
In response to the government’s deployment of water guards, he urged authorities to adopt a more proactive and sustainable approach that moves beyond rhetoric and delivers real results.
