A member of the New Patriotic Party’s Communication team, Ellen Ama Daaku, has dismissed claims that waterbodies have become murkier as a result of galamsey activities polluting the rivers.

Speaking on TV3’s Newday on Thursday, September 12, 2024, Ellen Daaku stated that claims about river bodies becoming dirty are inaccurate.

She asserted that the rivers were in a much worse and murkier state under the Mahama administration and that the situation has remained the same under the current government.

“I don’t think our water has gotten murkier. In 2015/2016, it was worse because we had the chanfans actually sitting on it [river]. Now people are actually going there [on the rivers] to mine in the night because they know during the day if they go, the police and the whole team will be after them. So, when you do tell me that it was better then, it wasn’t any better,” she said.

According to her, the state of the river bodies in the country would have been much worse than it is now if the ruling government had given up the fight against galamsey in 2016.

She therefore called on Ghanaians to question political parties about their commitment to addressing the galamsey menace.

“If government had given up on the fight like they [NDC] did in 2015/2016, by now I’m sure that all our waters would have been overran.

“I believe that we have to work hard at it but then you have to ask us as political parties, what are our plans towards it because this is an ongoing fight. The NPP has said that when we come, we are going to continue with the fight, with what we have done and put in measures to move these people from the rivers to giving them properly constituted areas to mine. They are Ghanaians, you cannot stop all of them at once,” she added.

Numerous civil society organisations and associations, including the Ghana Medical Association, Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, University of Teachers Association of Ghana, Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana and OccupyGhana, have all demanded an immediate ban on galamsey.

MAG/ ADG