Former Public Relations Officer for Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng has condemned Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah for publicly shedding tears over illegal mining (galamsey), labeling it a sign of weak leadership.
Kwarteng, speaking on GHOne TV’s NewDay monitored by Kumasimail questioned the minister’s failure to declare a state of emergency to combat galamsey—a measure Buah had previously advocated while serving as Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament.
He said “This is a minister who was not just an ordinary party member but a high-ranking member of the party at the time a deputy minority leader when they were in opposition.
This is the same gentleman who said that as soon as they came into power, they would declare a state of emergency and that the only way to address this galamsey menace was to issue a state of emergency caveat. What happened to it?
“How many days have they been in power over 100 days? You don’t need two weeks to declare a state of emergency because it has more to do with executive power. You just pass an executive instrument, and that is just a day’s job. What happened to the state of emergency that they made so much noise about?”, he asked.
The NPP communicator dismissed the minister’s emotional appeal as political theatrics.
Kwarteng emphasized “He has demonstrated weak leadership. Nobody should pamper him for what he did; he was appointed as a minister to solve problems, not to blackmail people through emotions. That is not what leadership is about. He is to provide solutions to problems, not to sit on TV and cry.
“If he feels tired, he should do the honourable thing by resigning”, he added.
He challenged Armah Buah to revoke licenses of companies like Akonta Mining, which has been linked to illegal activities, to demonstrate resolve.
Kwarteng also referenced past NDC claims that galamsey headquarters were in Kyebi under NPP leadership, asking, “What changed? Today, it is no longer Kyebi; it is now Akonta Mining.
Perfect, he should revoke the license, and let’s see if, when the license is revoked, every galamsey activity in the Eastern Region, Ashanti Region, Central Region, Western Region, and Western North will be resolved within the next two or three weeks”, he argued.
Source: www.kumasimail.com /Kwadwo Owusu
