The anti-galamsey protest has entered full swing, with demonstrators calling for urgent action against the environmental destruction caused by illegal mining.
One of the conveners of the march, Edward Tutor, did not mince words when addressing the government’s handling of the crisis.
Speaking at a vigil held at the Revolution Square in Accra on Sunday night ahead of the protest march, Tutor said the NDC government, led by President John Dramani Mahama, must either rise to the occasion or step down.
“If the NDC government led by President John Dramani Mahama is finding it can’t fight the menace as they promised before they came to power, they should vacate the presidency,” Tutor declared.
He added that in the United Kingdom and other Western nations, leaders often resign when they are unable to meet the expectations of the people.
On the question of whether a state of emergency should be declared, Tutor sharply disagreed with government’s position that such a move is unnecessary.
“The galamsey situation has put life in danger,” he stressed, citing medical complications and environmental harm faced by communities in mining areas.
He argued that President Mahama was being misled by his security advisers on the issue.
“The president is being ill-advised by his security apparatus not to declare a state of emergency. I am asking him to declare the state of emergency immediately without delay,” Tutor said.
The protest, spearheaded by the #FixTheCountry movement and convened by Oliver Barker-Vormawor, is aimed at drawing attention to the destruction of water bodies and farmlands as a result of galamsey. Protesters insist the government must take bolder and decisive steps to end the menace before it destroys Ghana’s future.
