Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC’s National Communications Officer, has emphasized that the party’s 2024 manifesto commits to “wage a ruthless war against illegal mining” and “review the Minerals and Mining Act to impose stiffer punishment on mining in water bodies.”

Speaking on Starr Today, Mr. Gyamfi outlined the party’s intention to launch the Blue Water Project and the Tree for Life initiative, which aim to restore contaminated water bodies, forest reserves, and lands.

“Our first task will be to reclaim the environment because the turbidity levels of our water bodies today are beyond acceptable levels,” he said, referencing a warning from the Ghana Water Company Limited about the risk to the nation’s water supply.

He also highlighted international concerns, citing a BBC prediction that Ghana might need to import drinking water by 2030. “In fact, the importation of water has already started,” he noted.

The NDC also plans to create a Ghana Gold Board, similar to the Ghana Cocoa Board, to oversee the gold mining industry. This board would train small-scale miners and provide equipment financing, ensuring they follow legal and sustainable mining practices.

“You will not be allowed to mine in a water body or a forest reserve, but any other area, you can mine if you have your mining lease,” Mr. Gyamfi stated.

Despite this commitment, the party’s proposal to grant amnesty to jailed miners has raised some concerns. Mr. Gyamfi clarified the stance by saying, “Giving amnesty to a prisoner does not mean you support the act of that prisoner. It only means that these people, after being punished, have shown remorse.”

Mr. Gyamfi accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of being complicit in illegal mining and ignoring the real perpetrators behind the operations.

“If you keep on arresting the workers at the mining sites, you are only addressing the symptom instead of the cause,” he said, describing the NPP government as “a Galamsey government, from Akufo-Addo to Bawumia to the ministers, to the MCEs.”

He urged the electorate to remove the NPP from power in the upcoming elections, asserting that the only way to genuinely address the illegal mining issue is to “boot out this Galamsey NPP government.”