Former President John Mahama has promised the people of Western North, that he will set up a Gold Board to do for miners what Ghana Cocoa Board does for cocoa farmers.
According to Happy FM’s Western Regional Correspondent Ohene Kwabena Dapaa’s report filed on the ‘Oman Nu Mu Te Sen’ segment of the Happy Morning Show (HappyHMS), Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), made this comment on a four-day tour of the Western North Region.
‘’Nana Addo said he will eradicate illegal mining and set up a task force that seized excavators. Only to allow NPP members to engage in illegal mining. That is why I promise to set up a Ghana Gold Board to work in a manner that will help small scale miners and the big mining companies. Graduates and experts from Tarkwa school of mines will run the Ghana Gold Board’’ Mahama is reported to have said.
The Former President is also reported to have spoken against the cost of a sack of cocoa.
‘’After four years in power, the NPP has nothing to show for it. Four years in government and Nana Akufo-Addo did not increase the cost of cocoa. Immediately they heard Mahama said he will increase how much a sack of cocoa cost to help the farmers make money and enhance their livelihood then they increased it to six hundred and sixty Ghana Cedis (GHS 660.00) which is even woefully inadequate. Ideally, the minimum cost of cocoa should be thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS 100.00).’’ Ohene Kwabena Dapaa reported.
Ohene also said on the Happy Morning Show (HMS) to host Samuel Eshun that, Mahama bemoaned the scrapping of his free fertilizer policy by the NPP Government.
‘’When NDC was in government, fertilizer was free but this government scrapped that. Now a sack of fertilizer cost GHS 80.00, how many farmers can afford that especially if the farmer has three large farms. The cocoa roads are also in deplorable conditions. ‘’
The former President toured Suaman, Boinzan, Bonsu Nkwanta, Mafia all in the Juaboso constituency in the Western North Region.