The Institute of Progressive Governance (IPG) has noted that for the country to be successful in dealing with illegal mining, popularly called 'galamsey', the approach must be collective.

In a statement issued by IPG, the think tank believes that if the galamsey fight is left for only the party in power to deal with, little progress would be made.

"Over the years, the fight against Galamsey has been left for only the party in power. Opposition parties have not been part of the fight, and this is the main reason behind the failures witnessed in this fight," the statement said.

IPG noted that when the government or the party in power is determined to root out galamsey, the opposition takes advantage of it and campaigns against the ruling party, thereby affecting the measures put in place to fight the menace.

The think tank also used the opportunity to chastise the former president and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, and his party for frustrating the fight against Galamsey.

"While the government might not have gotten everything right in its efforts to root out galamsey, we must also cite the flagbearer of the opposition NDC, John Mahama, for contributing to the mess we see today. His pronouncements in the run-up to the 2020 elections have promoted illegal mining activities. One can say that these miners have been emboldened by the assurance John Mahama gave to them that even if caught and jailed, he would free them. That's an irresponsible statement to make by anyone who seeks to lead the country."

"This is what the former president said to the jailed galamseyers when he was campaigning in 2020. 'WHEN WE COME, WE SHALL GRANT ALL THOSE ARRESTED AND JAILED AMNESTY. THEY WILL COME BACK TO THEIR HOMES AND WORK'. How can any fight, irrespective of its scale, achieve any tangible results when the main opposition leader is preaching like this to the very people who are engaging in the massive destruction of our environment?" IPG asked.

The statement also zeroed in on the roles some key members of the NDC played during the 2020 election campaign. IPG describes it as shocking the intense campaign the NDC embarked on to assure illegal miners of their unflinching support.

"It is horrifying watching videos of key NDC functionaries assuring illegal miners of unrestrained access to mine in water bodies and forest areas should they vote for Mahama. It was more than shocking to see such influential persons in the NDC supporting the devastation of our environment."

The think tank further noted that, as a human institution, the party in power would be hesitant in fighting galamsey looking at how the party suffered at the polls in areas where illegal mining activities are rampant.

"The NPP waged a war against galamsey but lost almost all the seats it occupied in the constituencies where galamsey is rampant due to the NDC assuring those illegal miners of their support and their promise to them of a return to ply their illegal mining operations should John Mahama win the 2020 elections. With the benefit of hindsight, the party in government would be hesitant in decisively dealing with galamsey at this material moment for fear of losing seats in these constituencies," parts of the statement read.

While IPG believes that the calls from organized labour, the clergy, and all other groups on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ban mining activities in all their forms may not be bad, it also believes a different approach must be adopted in the fight against galamsey now.

"The calls on President Akufo-Addo to ban mining activities in all their forms may not be bad, but that is not the best way to handle it. The fight must be collective. It must be nationalistic. It should involve the flagbearer of the NDC and the leadership of the party to commit to the fight by signing a pact to be supervised by all these groups calling on the government to ban mining. That is the only way we shall have a true sense of purpose and commitment to fight galamsey," IPG said.

According to IPG, all hands must be on deck if the country is to be able to fight and root out galamsey.