The Deputy National Communications Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ernest Owusu Bempah, has criticized his party for lacking the moral authority to condemn the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) over its handling of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
In a live video posted on his Facebook page, Owusu Bempah expressed disappointment with the NPP’s calls for demonstrations against galamsey.
Owusu Bempah stated, “I heard our party people today having the moral audacity to go out there and fight galamsey, that today we’ve the nerves to be criticizing John Dramani Mahama.
“I, Owusu Bempah, I’ll not go into that tangent; if I speak, people think I am controversial, but it’s a fact. Wasn’t it in 2012 that some of us held demonstrations against Mahama, accusing his government of turning Ghana into galamsey headquarters?”
He further criticized the past NPP administration, led by President Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo, for its alleged failures in combating illegal mining during its initial term.
“We were in this country, and some of us used galamsey for political purposes to gain power, which led to the sitting President Akuffo Addo placing his presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey during his first week in office.”
Owusu Bempah accused some members within the NPP of being involved in galamsey activities and said this compromised the fight against the menace.
“The people President Akuffo Addo hired, majority of them allegedly were part of these galamsey activities. When they came, the NDC mess they’ve done in galamsey, some of them came to continue. What moral right do we (the NPP) have to come back and use galamsey for political gain?” he questioned.
While acknowledging President Akuffo Addo’s resolve to tackle galamsey, Owusu Bempah explained that internal challenges hindered the effort.
“The leader, Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo, has the will to fight galamsey, but because some people were allegedly involved in it under his watch, we couldn’t effectively combat the menace and achieve his dream,” he noted.
Owusu Bempah cautioned that the NPP must possess a greater moral standing before criticizing the government and warned against using galamsey as a political weapon.
He emphasized, “We need to have the high moral ground before we can criticize the NDC. If we don’t have the moral high ground, we can never do that except as dishonest politicians or those lacking political purging who say we should criticize the NDC at this moment
“We are now in opposition; if we want to convince Ghanaians that we are better, it takes a foolish strategic politician to deny our shortcomings. Ghanaians are not foolish; they will not buy that narrative,” he concluded.
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
