Dr. Ishaq Brobbey, senior lecturer at Kumasi Technical University, has called on the government to take decisive action against illegal mining (galamsey), describing it as the most fitting tribute to the eight officials who died in the recent helicopter crash.
Speaking to Wontumi TV, Dr. Brobbey expressed concern over the silence of the Minister for Roads and the Road Safety Authority amid a rise in fatalities from road and air accidents. “The growing number of tragic deaths demands urgent national reflection and reforms,” he said.
He also referenced a controversial remark by NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who had said, “We will do anything to win power, and I mean it — including lives.”
Dr. Brobbey suggested that recent misfortunes, including the helicopter crash that claimed Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, may not be coincidental.
Interestingly, Nketia revealed he was initially scheduled to be on the helicopter but was replaced by Dr. Samuel Sarpong, the NDC Vice Chairman, citing divine intervention for his absence.
“If lives are being lost left, right, back, and center, then we should remember what Nketia said,” Dr. Brobbey noted.
He urged the government to urgently deliver a State of the Nation Address and expose illegal mining activities in protected forest reserves — practices he believes may have contributed to the crash. Reports indicate the officials were en route to launch a cooperative mining project, making the call to curb galamsey even more pressing.
“The best way to honour their memory is not just with speeches but by eradicating the galamsey menace once and for all,” Dr. Brobbey concluded.
