Kofi Akpaloo, the leader and founder of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), has criticized calls from civil society and organized labor for the government to ban small-scale mining, including illegal mining (galamsey), ahead of 7th December polls.
Speaking on Accra-based Atinka TV, monitored by Kumasimail, Akpaloo expressed his support for the ruling government’s decision to avoid such a ban, stating that it would be unwise to take such an action just three months before the December 7th elections.
“It is only a foolish president that will make such a silly decision,” Akpaloo stated. He emphasized that the timing of the current advocacy against illegal mining is wrong and should not be acknowledged by the government.
“The media-led campaign against illegal mining in the past gained significant public support because the timing was right. However, this time, the situation is different, and there is no need for the government to heed the public outcry,” he stressed.
Akpaloo further referenced an incident in 2008 when former President John Agyekum Kufuor led government arrested several commercial drivers in Kumasi for traffic violations as part of efforts to enforce road traffic discipline.
According to Akpaloo, this move caused dissatisfaction among voters in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) strongholds, leading to apathy that contributed to the party’s electoral defeat in the 2008 elections.
“The operation, which was spearheaded by the then Mayor of Kumasi, now Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, Patricia Appiagyei, made it easier for the NPP to lose power. So, I stand by my view that only a president who is not thinking clearly would move to stop miners in an election year,” Akpaloo reiterated.
Source: www.kumasimail.com/IBJ-Kumasi
