Former Deputy Lands and Natural Resource Minister, Barbara Asamoah has accused the Akufo Addo government of throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians after it claimed that it has stamped out the galamsey menace, only to be exposed by major river bodies which remains unchanged.

Barbara who is aspiring to become a deputy general secretary for the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), said illegal mining popularly known as “galamsey” was on the low during the NDC regime and that plans were far advanced to completely eradicate the menace before government changed hands.

According to the former deputy Minister, stringent policies and measures were put in place by the Mahama government which ensured that several illegal miners were discouraged from engaging in the galamsey activities.

She however noted that, the situation degenerated by the coming in of the new government, adding that “the Akufo-Addo government should have followed what we were doing in clamping down on the activities of illegal mining and the government is always blaming the past government for what is happening with galamsey”.

According to her, she cannot fathom why the water bodies in the galamsey enclaves are still unclean yet the government claims to have stamped out the menace

“We left all the document with the ministry and the government could get go back and continue from where we left of rather than always trying to find fault with previous government because galamsey started long ago, NDC didn’t start galamsey” she added.

Meanwhile, Barbara who is contesting for the deputy general secretary of the NDC is hopeful she will be voted for, as the first woman to hold the position.