The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary candidate aspirant for the Akwatia constituency, Ernest Yaw Kumi has demanded that the youth of Akwatia be allowed to mine the diamonds in the region.
According to him, the people of Akwatia are looking for lands to mine from.
Speaking in an interview on Happy98.9FM’s Epa Hoa Daben, the NPP man disclosed that, “If the diamonds are in the ground, our young men are also looking for opportunities to work and we are looking for lands for them to work on. If there are diamonds or minerals beneath the ground, why should we leave it there? If there are lands filled with minerals, I will allow the youth to mine”, he said.
When asked by host Afrifa Mensah if he meant they should be allowed to practice galamsey, he responded in the affirmative. On his authority, he will not allow the minerals to sit beneath the ground whilst the people of Akwatia become poor and under-developed.
Mr. Kumi furthered that the most important thing is the way the minerals are mined and he will make sure the people of Akwatia adopt best practices in mining the diamonds. “No country with natural resources will leave minerals in the ground without mining them. They will mine them but the way it is mined is the most important thing. We should not forget to use the right methodology”.
“We will monitor and make sure they don’t destroy our natural resources and water bodies. But we will allow them to mine and not leave the minerals there”, he reiterated.
He revealed that if anyone was willing to mine in Akwatia,that is what he will do as a political leader. “I will allow them to mine but I will monitor and make sure those involved are mining up to scale and the methods being used are prescribed”.
As one of the largest gold producers and exporters in Africa, Ghana has been waging a war against illegal mining, which has caused pollution of major water bodies in mineral-rich territories.
In recent times, the illegal mining activities which has reduced to some extent, have bounced back because of alleged involvement of some government operatives and chiefs.
Some politicians have been fingered in the galamsey activities which are destroying water bodies.
On Monday, February 3, 2020, the Regional Vice Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Central region, Ekow Ewusi was arrested for a role he allegedly played in the missing excavators seized in illegal mining.
By: Joel Sanco
