Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Director of Communication for the Bawumia Campaign, has criticised the Organised Labour’s decision to go on strike if the government fails to declare a state of emergency on illegal mining.

According to him, Organised Labour's approach appears to be an attempt to blackmail the government rather than focusing on proposing ideas and strategies to help combat the menace.

Speaking in an interview on Neat FM on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, Dennis Aboagye asserted that the effects of the strike will bring the country to a standstill.

“If the country comes to a standstill after embarking on the strike because of galamsey, what will we do about the consequences of the strike?One major problem in this country is the galamsey menace and what we need are ideas and strategies to deal with it and not blackmail. Of course, it is. What will you call this if not blackmail?” he quizzed.

Dennis Aboagye further stated that the actions of Organised Labour demonstrates they are not genuinely interested in fighting galamsey but may have ulterior motives.

He questioned why they would choose to go on strike just two months before the elections.

“They have ulterior motives and are not ready to fight against galamsey. Why would you want to embark on a strike with 2 months to election at a time when the country is recovering from a massive economic crisis?

“We have fought inflation from 54% to around 20% and the country is trying hard to come out of this economic challenges. When the Organised Labour goes on their strike, the inflation will be pushed up by 10 basic points. One week of Organised Labour strike will require about a year or more before we will be able to bring the economy back on track,” he said.

Warning of the dire consequences of the strike on the livelihoods of Ghanaians, Dennis Aboagye cautioned that the effects of the strike could harm people even more than galamsey itself.

“… they should stop the strike because it is not the solution to the fight toward galamsey. The effects of the strike is probably even more than the galamsey. People will die before even the galamsey will kill them. If truly they care about the lives of the people who they claim they are concerned about, they shouldn't kill them before galamsey does,” he warned.

Organised Labour has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike on October 10, 2024, if the government fails to address their demands for a declaration of state of emergency over mining activities.

MAG/AE