The Chronicle, in its yesterday edition, published a story in which the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Amansie South, William Asante Bediako, publicly admitted that galamsey is the profession of people in his area, especially Manso, near Tontonkrom.
Speaking at the commissioning of a toilet facility at Tontonkrom recently, Mr. Bediako said he had been vilified and disgraced on a number of occasions by his party people on radio that he supports galamsey.
“Why would I not support galamsey? Had it not been galamsey, we would not have had a storey building at Manso; had it not been galamsey and hardworking nature of the people of Manso, a youth of Manso would not have been able to purchase a car worth one billion cedis.
“If some elite like us are jealous of galamsey activities, I, Bediako, is of the opinion that galamsey is the profession of the people of Manso, and that is our source of livelihood,” the paper reported the DCE as saying.
With the revelation made by the Amansie South DCE, The Chronicle is calling on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to fire Mr. Bediako to prove to Ghanaians that he is determined to bring to book any appointee whose action or inaction will lead to undermining his administration.
Months after taking over the administration of this country, the President set up the Operation Vanguard taskforce to help fight the menace of galamsey, which had caused massive pollution of water bodies and destruction to forests cover in mining communities across the country.
The exercise, at the beginning, proved successful, but at a point, things started going sour, which led to Ghanaians pointing accusing fingers at government officials for thwarting the efforts of the President in the fight against galamsey.
On February 6, 2020, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), at a press conference, accused officials of the ruling government of sabotaging efforts of the President to address the menace of illegal mining or galamsey in the country.
At the said press conference, which was held in Accra, Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Officer of the party, accused the government of deliberately frustrating the efforts of legitimate small-scale miners just to pave the way for its appointees to take over the industry to help raise funds for the ruling party.
He noted that Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, as well as John-Peter Amewu, the then Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, had on different occasions accused some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and other senior government officials of directly engaging in galamsey, or frustrating efforts at addressing the menace.
However, nobody has been able to pinpoint any particular government official or MMDCE who has been found to be involved in galamsey operations.
It is for this reason that The Chronicle is urging the President to stamp his authority by removing William Asante Bediako from office to serve as deterrent to others who might want to disobey his orders in the future.
It is our view that if President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo does not take the necessary steps to punish the Amansie South DCE, by dismissing him from office, he would be allowing his detractors to garner more criticisms to use as political weapon against him.
The President is noted for his no-nonsense stance on people who disobey direct orders, and we believe the time has come for him to demonstrate to all Ghanaians that he is up to the task of punishing offenders, irrespective of their political inclinations.
The post Editorial: Fire Amansie South DCE for sabotage appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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