A leading member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwasi Kwarteng, has urged the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to resign if he cannot tackle the menace of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
Mr. Kwarteng, a former Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education, criticised the minister for crying publicly over galamsey, despite previously calling on the former NPP government to implement stringent measures to curb the activity.
Speaking in an interview on Accra-based GHOne TV on Tuesday, April 22, the legal practitioner recalled that Mr. Buah, then Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, had once called for the declaration of a state of emergency as the only effective solution to the galamsey crisis.
However, Mr. Kwarteng argued that the NDC government has been in power for over 100 days but has yet to declare the promised state of emergency or stop the illegal mining practices they claimed could be ended within a week.
“This is a gentleman who said that as soon as they come into power, they are going to declare a state of emergency, and that the only way of addressing this galamsey is to declare a state of emergency. What happened to it? How many days have they been in power? Over 100 days? You don’t need two weeks to declare a state of emergency because it has more to do with an executive power.”
He continued, “he was appointed a minister to solve problems, not to come and blackmail people through emotions. That is not what leadership is about. It is to provide solutions to problems, not to come and sit on TV and cry. If he feels he’s tired, he should do the needful by resigning.”
This comes after the minister, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, was seen shedding tears at a press conference on Monday, April 21, after watching a documentary that highlighted the devastating impact of galamsey across parts of the country.
