Kwasi Kwarteng, a private legal practitioner and New Patriotic Party (NPP) communicator, has slammed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government over what he describes as a lazy approach to fighting illegal small-scale mining, known locally as galamsey.
He asserted that no serious government would attempt to combat the long-standing menace with river guards trained for just one month.
In a social media post on Thursday, March 20, Kwasi Kwarteng wrote, “No serious government would attempt to fight galamsey using water guards trained for just one month.”
Similarly, in an interview on Accra-based GHOne TV, he stated, “NDC’s approach of using Water Guards to fight galamsey is lazy.”
His remarks come after the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources introduced The River Guards to protect the country’s water bodies from destruction caused by illegal mining.
These guards will serve as vigilant stewards of the nation’s rivers, reminiscent of the Young Pioneers of old, to prevent further degradation of water resources due to illegal mining activities.
According to the sector minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, this initiative will be implemented alongside the Blue Water Initiative.
Both initiatives aim to restore and protect the environment while rehabilitating polluted water bodies.
The launch, which was attended by President John Dramani Mahama, took place at the Ezilinbo Naval Base in the Western Region on Monday, March 17.
