PPP tasks govt to stop lawlessness

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to take urgent steps to stop lawlessness in the country. It said that was required to save the country from degenerating into an ungovernable society and a sure candidate for failure as a state under his watch.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters, the National Chairman of the PPP,  Nii Allotey Brew Hammond, condemned the current acts of lawlessness going on in the country and “the clear lack of leadership by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to deal with it”.

The party called the press conference to address the menace of “galamsey” operators and also to deal with  acts unleashed on public officers and institutions by political party-sponsored vigilante groups.

NPP and NDC culpable

Nii Hammond blamed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the NPP for looking on over the past 25 years while illegal miners degraded farmlands and were threatening to dry up sources of water bodies in the country.

“Can the NDC and NPP who have ruled this country for 25 years say they are not aware of the destruction such illegal activities have caused to our farmlands, water bodies, forest reserves and the general health of our people?” he queried.

‘Galamsey’ on cocoa farms

Nii Hammond expressed regret that cocoa farmers had been compelled to sell their farmlands for the ‘galamsey’ cash “because the state has failed to guarantee the safety and security of their investments as farmers.

“No wonder Ghana continues to experience a reduction of about 100,000 tonnes per annum in the production of cocoa, contributing to the global reduction trends expected to hit about one million tons,” he said.

Nii Hammond said the country could not allow illegal miners to destroy cocoa-growing regions such as Brong Ahafo, Western, Ashanti and Eastern, all because some people had decided to mine outside the law and to operate their mining activities in prohibited areas in gross violation of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (703).

Media coalition against galamsey

“To that end, we want to commend the recently launched media coalition against illegal mining and encourage them to continue with the concerted effort to help put a stop to galamsey in Ghana.

“We want to assure the coalition that they have a reliable partner in the PPP as a party in opposition and PPP as a party soon to be in government.

“We want to send a warning shot to both private and public sector actors that the environment in Ghana is no longer their playground,” Nii Hammond said.

He maintained that the party expected the NPP government to gather the political will to prosecute and extradite all foreign ‘galamseyers’ from the country so that farmers could cultivate more crops to improve their individual livelihoods and that of the nation collectively.

Vigilante groups

Speaking on the activities of political party affiliated vigilante groups, he said, “We demand that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Apeatu, immediately disband all political party affiliated vigilante groups, and arrest and prosecute members of the groups culpable for causing harm to innocent people and damaging state assets.”

Nii Hammond said political party-affiliated vigilante groups were illegal entities that must not be allowed to operate.

“Let us refuse to tolerate the Invincible Forces, Delta Force, Kandahar Boys, Azorka Boys, Bamba Boys, land guards and all other militia whose activities are fully funded by political parties and their agents to foment trouble in our country,” Nii Hammond added.