Senyo Amekplenu, a member of the New Patriotic Party’s Communications Team has challenged the governing National Democratic Congress’ handling of illegal mining, insisting that current efforts are merely a continuation of past interventions with no significant innovation.
Speaking to Moro Awudu on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show on April 30, he argued that the fight against “galamsey” has been overstated by the current administration.
“Nine months is not a novelty,” he said. “This is just a rebranding of Operation Vanguard, Galamstop and the rest.”
Mr Amekplenu maintained that the same security agencies previously deployed remain in operation, questioning claims of new strategies.
“These are the same security services that were doing the work,” he noted.
He contrasted the current approach with what he described as structured interventions under the previous government, including the deployment of “water guards” to protect water bodies.
“They said they had a strategy. They had what they called water guards,” he said, adding that the current administration has failed to match that level of coordination.
The NPP communicator further criticised the government’s capacity to sustain the fight against illegal mining.
“You don’t have the men,” he stated bluntly.
He also linked the “galamsey” debate to broader governance concerns, referencing the recent controversial comments made by the Ghana Free Zones Authority CEO Dr Mary Awusi against the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye.
Mr Amekplenu described her apology to the Church of Pentecost leader as inadequate and symptomatic of a lack of accountability.
“It was not an apology,” he said. “It was meaningless.”
He accused the government of failing to demonstrate leadership in addressing both the apology issue and the broader environmental crisis.
“Instead of showing remorse, they are deflecting,” he argued.
Despite ongoing operations and reported enforcement actions, Mr Amekplenu insisted that the government must move beyond rhetoric and demonstrate tangible results, particularly in prosecuting key figures involved in illegal mining.
He warned that without decisive action, public confidence in the fight against “galamsey” could erode further.
“The problem is still there,” he said. “We cannot pretend otherwise.”
