President of the University of Ghana Chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UG-UTAG), Professor Ransford Gyampo, has openly condemned the government’s approach in addressing the illegal mining issue, also known as galamsey.
His criticism follows a private meeting between President Akufo-Addo and leaders of Organised Labour, held on Thursday, where the president requested more time to tackle the galamsey problem.
The meeting was arranged after Organised Labour declared an indefinite strike scheduled to begin on October 10.
The strike was announced on Tuesday, October 1, after the government failed to meet their demands for an outright ban on all forms of mining and the declaration of a state of emergency to stop galamsey activities.
President Akufo-Addo urged Organised Labour to reconsider the strike, reassuring them of his determination to address their grievances.
On Friday, October 4, Information Minister Fatimatu Abubakar issued a statement reaffirming the government’s resolve to deal with the illegal mining crisis.
However, in an interview with Citi FM’s Eyewitness News, Prof Gyampo expressed his dissatisfaction with the government’s communication, stating that Organised Labour had not yet fully updated its members on the situation, making the government’s announcement premature and counterproductive.
“First of all, Organised Labour is yet to meet with its membership to brief them on what really transpired. So, I don’t think that it lies in the mouth of the Minister of Information to deliberately issue that statement to create the impression that something is being done when Organised Labour has not even briefed its membership. It doesn’t help,” Prof. Gyampo stated.
He further criticised the government’s approach, suggesting that it was more focused on gaining public sympathy rather than taking effective action against galamsey.
“Why the indecent haste to break the news, to achieve what? This is a fight against galamsey. It is not about asking for better conditions of service where you can use some of these propagandistic tendencies to try to sway or win public sympathy.
“Members of the public that we are fighting for are dying just as we are also dying. So, it is not about courting unnecessary sympathy; it is about doing the right thing,” he added.