Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, has expressed deep sorrow over the August 6 helicopter crash that killed eight people, including two cabinet ministers, while also aiming what he sees as years of inadequate action against illegal mining.
“It’s hard, it’s really hard, it’s painful,” Cudjoe said in an interview on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday, August 10. “I will commiserate with the families and the rest of the country.
“It’s important that people do not remind us of the pain, especially some of the commentaries regarding this whole menace of galamsey.”
He criticised the politicisation of the issue, saying: “It’s quite interesting that we are making it look as though something should be shared politically.
“I think that if something significant had been done about it, probably in the last 5, 6 or 7 years, we wouldn’t be here.”
The victims — Defence Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Environment Minister Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, and six others, including military personnel — were travelling to Obuasi for the launch of the Responsible Co-operative Mining and Skills Development Programme (COMSDEP) when their aircraft crashed in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region. The programme was intended to provide an alternative to illegal mining.
Cudjoe called for the preservation of the legacies of those who died, emphasising that their ultimate sacrifice should drive meaningful change in addressing the root causes of the tragedy.
