Special Aide to John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari has described as false President Nana Akufo-Addo’s claim that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost all galamsey-affected areas in the 2020 elections.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, October 16, Madam Bawa Mogtari dismissed the statement as a “bloody lie” unsupported by parliamentary election results. She urged Ghanaians to reject the claim as misleading.
She also highlighted Mahama’s plan to tackle illegal mining, outlined during his recent campaign. According to her, Mahama’s strategy involves auditing all mining concessions to identify beneficial owners and holding them accountable for illegal activities within their operational areas. The plan further proposes prohibiting new mining leases in forest reserves and strengthening laws on mining in water bodies by introducing harsher penalties for offenders through amendments to the Minerals and Mining Law.
The former President’s agenda includes a “Tree for Life and Blue Water” initiative to rehabilitate degraded lands and restore polluted water bodies. She explained that Mahama’s approach will grant amnesty to locals arrested for engaging in galamsey, with these individuals being recruited for reforestation projects aimed at boosting environmental sustainability.
Madam Bawa Mogtari expressed her displeasure with President Akufo-Addo’s assertion that he had put his presidency on the line to fight illegal mining. She labeled the statement as “immoral” and suggested that the President’s continued public commentary on the issue was inappropriate, given the challenges surrounding his administration’s handling of the galamsey crisis.