A former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Inusah Fuseini, says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo could create a lasting legacy by ending illegal small-scale mining, commonly known as galamsey in Ghana.

According to him, the current generation and future ones will applaud him if he is able to end the menace.

The former Tamale Central legislator’s comments come on the back of recent statements by the president, reiterating his commitment to fighting galamsey..

President Akufo-Addo said he will do everything in his power to bring the menace to an end in his second term, which ends in January 2025.

He noted that major rivers such as the Birim and Ankobrah have been polluted due to the activities of illegal small-scale miners and, as such, he will put more effort into the fight to ensure that future generations are not deprived of the water, mineral and natural resources currently being threatened by galamsey.

“We’ve seen what has happened to River Birim, Ankobrah, and other major water bodies. I’ll put a lot of effort into the galamsey fight for Ghanaians to know that I’m serious about the fight so that we can bequeath to the next generation the gold, water, and other resources we inherited from our forefathers. I intend to do everything within my power in this second term to bring this galamsey menace to a conclusion in Ghana,” he stated.

Mr. Fuseini has challenged the president to walk the talk by ending the menace in order to help secure Ghana’s future.

“There is more to it than words. It is the action that is required, but I agree with the president and challenge him to put in more effort because he has said all the right things. Ghana’s ecosystem has taken us a long time to get it where it is and we cannot just watch on and allow a few miscreants to destroy it for their personal gain. Our ancestors knew [about] the gold that we have but they never prospected for gold in water bodies, and they never also destroy the forest cover for gold. They rather handed to us – this generation – an ecosystem that we were proud of and that we could even beat our chest and say that we are the largest producers of cocoa. This is what they handed over to us, what are we handing over to the next generation?”

“We cannot allow these greedy people to destroy it for us. We cannot and we must not. The president must act and act now. Mr. President, if you can’t create any legacy at all, the lasting legacy will be to mitigate the harmful effects of illegal small-scale mining in this country by banning such activities. If you so do, not only this generation but generations yet unborn will applaud you for it.”

Mr. Inusah Fuseini made the call on Citi FM/TV‘s weekend current affairs programme, The Big Issue on Saturday, April 24, 2021.