NDC People Have Taken Over Mining in Protected Forest Reserves, Claim It’s ‘Their Turn’ – Journalist Blows Alarm

Multimedia Group journalist Erastus Asare Donkor has blown the alarm on illegal mining (galamsey) still ongoing in protected mining reserves despite the current government’s pledge to fight the menace.

In a post shared on his Facebook handle, the journalist said National Democratic Congress (NDC) ‘party people’ are laying claim to the Tano Nimri forest reserve and have now taken over mining in the protected forest.

Donkor expressed shock that a President and party who campaigned on solving this very issue are now engaging in it under the dubious claim of it being ‘their turn’.

“The President cannot watch on for this to happen!!,” Donkor wrote, accompanied by videos and images of the destroyed forest reserve. “Constantly I have notified the right authorities, including the sector ministry but very little urgency is attached to it.”

“How can party people lay claim over illegality in such a brazen manner across the country and leaders watch on?” he continued.

According to him, galamsey is being done ‘brazenly’ in the supposed protected reserve, which is leading to the continued pollution of the River Tano. He added that people with ‘connections’ were spearheading this affront to the law and that despite blowing the whistle multiple times, nothing has been done.

Donkor, who similarly fought against the menace of galamsey during the NPP era, fingered big NDC party people as being involved in the menace, which is why there is no political will to stop it.

“Why is it difficult for authorities to end this nature crime? The only answer that makes sense is that it involves people close to them,” he wrote.

Galamsey, or illegal mining, and its devastating effects on the environment were a massive issue in the 2024 elections. The menace exploded during the previous regime, with mining licences being granted at an unprecedented rate. Despite grandiose election promises of battling the menace, the new NDC administration has been attacked by critics for failing to honour their promise of rooting out illegal mining.