Galamsey Fight: Both NDC and NPP are from the same parents – Prof. Frimpong-Boateng
Former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has accused both the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of being historically complicit in Ghana’s illegal mining crisis.
According to him, both the NDC and NPP “are from the same parents” when it comes to supporting illegal mining (galamsey) activities.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Monday, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng explained that despite years of anti-galamsey campaigns, “impunity is still rampant” across the mining sector, warning that the situation id getting worst in some parts of the country despite efforts by the current government to clamp down on illegal mining activities.
“I don’t want to talk about galamsey because you see, the NDC loved it, and when they went, the NPP came and they also loved it, now the NDC has come and they love it,” he said “The two parties are from the same parent parents as far as galamsey is concerned.”
“I don’t see any difference between how the NDC is dealing with it and how the NPP dealt with it, in some areas it is even getting worse, the impunity is still there, go to the Lands Minister’s district, the situation is terrible, one of the worst areas in Ghana, I know because I have relatives there,” he added.
When countered that the “noise about galamsey” has reduced, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng argued that the current NDC government will not criticize itself for any involvement in galamsey, the NPP lack the moral capacity to criticize the current government given their own “extensive track record” in galamsey activities.
“The NPP has no moral courage to criticize anything, they did worst things, and the NDC will not criticize themselves, we were criticizing our party and our people for doing the wrong thing, but the NDC will not, they will keep quiet and enjoy it,” he said.
He further asserted that the absence of criticism and effective action from successive administrations could be attributed to the benefits reaped from galamsey by certain individuals within party ranks, indicating that fighting it “will be difficult while enjoying it…and getting money for the next elections.”
Professor Frimpong-Boateng previously chaired the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) under the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration, which revealed the extent to which political interference and local-level complicity have sabotaged enforcement efforts.
According to the former Minister, Ghana’s failure to curb galamsey does not arise from inadequate legislation, but from a fundamental breakdown in enforcement.
“It’s not that we don’t have strong laws. The issue is the enforcement systems and the internal betrayals that prevent these laws from working,” he explained.
During his tenure leading the IMCIM, Professor Frimpong-Boateng discovered that political appointees and party operatives from both sides were actively supporting illegal miners or interfering with enforcement efforts.
His controversial galamsey report, which named individuals allegedly involved in protecting illegal operations, faced strong resistance and was effectively shelved, until the current NDC government relied on its scope for some illegal mining investigations involving some influential party figures.
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