Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has urged Ghanaians to move beyond partisan politics in the fight against illegal mining, stressing that only a united national front can effectively tackle the growing environmental crisis.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) on Ghana’s natural resource management regime, Mr. Afenyo-Markin described illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, as a national emergency that demands collective responsibility rather than political rivalry.
He warned that excessive politicisation of the issue over the years has hindered progress and created divisions that embolden perpetrators.
“We have to let the authorities know that we have no other alternatives — this must stop. Frankly speaking, we have all failed our nation,” he said.
The Effutu MP called for a comprehensive national orientation on natural resource protection, urging both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to put the country’s environmental future above political gains.
“This is not an NPP or NDC matter,” he emphasised. “If we continue to trade blame, we will not get anywhere. The galamsey issue affects every Ghanaian — our rivers, our forests, and our future.”
His remarks come at a time when stakeholders across the country are renewing calls for tougher and coordinated action to end the destruction of Ghana’s water bodies and forest reserves through illegal mining.
The IEA seminar brought together policymakers, civil society actors, and academics to explore sustainable approaches to managing Ghana’s natural resources and ensuring accountability in the extractive sector.
