Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale South
Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, has demanded the resignation of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo concerning his inability to successfully fight illegal mining, popularly referred to as galamsey, myjoyonline.com has reported.
During an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, the MP referred to a promise made by the president to risk his job in the fight against illegal mining.
He emphasised that the situation has deteriorated.
He questioned, “We heard President Akufo-Addo put his job on the line in 2017. What has he done since he failed to combat illegal mining?”
Haruna Iddrisu added that in any civilised democracy, the president would have stepped down, due to unfulfilled critical promises, such as the situation at hand.
He added, “He would have bowed out and said, ‘I have no honour, because my pledge to fight galamsey has fallen flat.”
The MP condemned the president and his administration for commending themselves despite their failure to deliver the promise to get rid of illegal mining.
He explained that it is very important that leaders be held accountable especially on issues about safeguarding the environment and the livelihoods of affected communities.
However, Haruna Iddrisu said he doubts the current political administration’s ability to effectively deal with the issue of illegal mining.
“I certainly do not trust the current political leadership that they can do better about galamsey," he stated.
Recent discussions on galamsey and its adverse effects have been sparked by an announcement by the management of the Ghana Water Limited in the Central Region, that residents in Cape Coast, Elmina, and surrounding communities would face water supply challenges.
The company said that the current water supply gap is as a result of insufficient raw water received at the Sekyere Hemang Water Treatment Plant (WTP) due to galamsey activities.
Environmental groups, Civil Society Organisations, and concerned citizens have since expressed their concerns about the insignificant progress in the fight against galamsey activities that has led to the destruction of rivers, farmlands and loss of livelihoods for many Ghanaians.
RAD/AE
Meanwhile, catch up on the latest episode of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV as Etsey Atisu digs deep into the journey and stories of Esther Cobbah and her Stratcomm Africa company that is celebrating 30 years of existence, below:
