Vice Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has assured that the party’s “Peoples’ Manifesto” will streamline and operationalized illegal small scale mining popularly known as ‘Galamsey’.
Addressing traders and artisans at the Kotokuraba market in Cape Coast in the Central region as part of her tour of the region, the Running Mate said, the broader consultation of the manifesto is pivotal in the improvement of various sectors of the economy including streamlining of ‘galamsey’.
She said the broader consultation of the Peoples Manifesto captures a wide range of occupations.
“The manifesto launched captures the needs of the farmer, teacher, nurse, doctor, and traders have theirs in there. If you thoroughly check the manifesto, that of the Okada riding is in there, and you will see that galamseyers are in there too.
“If indeed galamsey is destroying our river bodies, is a cause to worry because it is irreversible. We will all be affected. Similarly, the destruction of the forest will affect us because that is the only forest available to us, and Ghanaians will starve if we should lose it. So, if that is the danger it poses, it’s better to engage in dialogue, training and education to enable the practice of responsible mining, so galamsayers have theirs in there,” she assured.
According to her, although galamsey has threatened the country’s river bodies and forest over the years, modern and innovative ways can be adopted through dialogue, training and education to create sustainable livelihood for the sector.
She said the NDC is committed to fulfilling these promises because the manifesto addresses the true challenges of Ghanaians.
