The District Chief Executive of Ellembelle, Kwasi Bonzo has debunked the NDC’s allegations of his involvement in ‘galamsey’ activities in the Ellembelle District.

National Communication Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi in a press conference on Thursday claimed that the NPP sometime ago accused Kwasi Bonzo of taking an amount of GH₵70,000 and releasing excavators for ‘galamsey’ activities in Ellembelle.

“He unpatriotically took GH₵10,000 for each excavator totaling GH₵70,000 and shockingly released the excavators to them. No action whatsoever was taken against the DCE,” Sammy Gyamfi said.

Police recover missing Ellembelle excavator; DCE, 3 others arrested

But reacting to the allegations, the Ellembelle DCE said the NDC’s accusations are just cheap talk to score political points.

He noted that the NDC has no evidence to prove their accusations.

“NDC cannot have any evidence in this matter. This is the kind of politics if we do not take care will destroy our country. It is what I term as politics without principles. Sammy Gyamfi and his NDC party in their quest to seek political and electoral gains through the issue of ‘galamsey’ are throwing all manner of dust into the eyes of Ghanaians and this is where I think Ghanaians should come out and then condemn such display of politics without principles,” he said on Top Story on Thursday.

Mr. Kwasi Bonzo was in September arrested with two other persons and placed under Police investigation for the disappearance of two mining excavators in the district.

The arrest ensued when the DCE caught wind that the Police had recovered an excavator similar to what had been reported missing.

He moved in to supposedly identify the earthmoving equipment in the early hours of the day.

I will deal with any illegal mining activity – Ellembelle DCE

Reports indicate that the DCE was ignored when he came in to try and verify the machines’ ownership.

Eyewitnesses told JoyNews Western Regional Correspondent, Ina-Thalia Quansah that the DCE followed up in the Ayisakrom in the district.

There, Kwasi Bonzo is said to have confronted the security officials resulting in a scuffle.

Eventually, he was bundled into a Police vehicle and transported to the headquarters in Sekondi.

Meanwhile, the Ellembelle DCE has decried the intrusion by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle in his bid to fight illegal mining in the District.

In an interview on Joy FM‘s Top Story on Thursday, he said the NDC MP in his fourth term – Mr. Armah Kofi Buah assisted in the release of some illegal miners arrested and fined.

“Recently on 1st April 2022, some 33 ‘galamseyers’ were arrested. They were arraigned and fined GHC 2,000 each… this was on a Friday, you cannot imagine that by Monday, the Member of Parliament had arranged for those sentences to be quashed for all those people to be set free,” he said.

He also claimed that Mr. Buah “filed a writ against a big mining company on whose concession illegal miners had been transacting illegal activities.”

According to him, the activities of some of the MPs are a “double edge sword for the government” in the ‘galamsey’ fight.