A member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) National Communication Team, Tabitha Apegyine Ayillah, says her party is ready to support the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to end illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana with host Annie Ampofo, Ayillah stressed that the fight against illegal mining should not be about politics but national survival.
“We can fight galamsey if we are in this together. Let me reiterate that the NPP is ready to support the NDC government any day to fight galamsey,” she said.
Ayillah commended President John Mahama for engaging civil society organisations and the media in discussions about illegal mining but urged government to go beyond meetings and show tangible results.
“I must admit that the President did well in calling the CSOs and meeting the media. But beyond meeting them, we should be looking at the impact. Why did you meet them, and what outcomes are we expecting?” she questioned.
She acknowledged that her own party, while in power, struggled to make headway in the galamsey fight because of political divisions. “When we were talking about arresting people, others said they would be given amnesty. When we said we would stop people from engaging in galamsey, others said we would give them opportunities. That division weakened the fight,” she admitted.
Ayillah said the NPP has now taken a new position to stand with the government of the day, regardless of political differences. “We cannot sit in this country and allow a few people who benefit from galamsey to disgrace all of us,” she added.
She also criticised the Mahama administration’s performance so far, saying the government has not yet fulfilled its own promise to ban illegal mining in forest reserves. “In the NDC’s 100 days social contract, point 19 states that they would ban illegal and new mining activities in the forest reserves. So far, we are yet to hear of any such ban. Per the Minerals Commission’s data, 12 new licenses have been approved since NDC came to power,” she alleged.
Ayillah further accused some civil society figures of being too soft on the government during recent engagements, adding that one of the few who spoke boldly, media advocate Ken Ashigbey, has since come under attack. “He is being targeted by NDC supporters led by Deputy Chief of Staff Stan Dogbe,” she claimed.
However, Ama Pratt, Press Secretary to the Vice President, disagreed with the claim of attacks. Responding on the same programme, she said online exchanges do not amount to personal attacks.
“Having a banter on social media is not an attack. We can look at it as an opinion since we are building a democracy and are free to speak, but let’s do it constructively,” Pratt stated.
Ayillah concluded with a renewed call for unity. “When it comes to numbers, we have more people than those engaged in galamsey. If we decide to come together, we can stop it,” she said.
