"What sort of corruption is this? What kind of impunity is this? What sort of money are they looking for? All of them, from top to bottom; I’m telling you. I’m telling you. It is so annoying and it’s so money, money, money and they don’t care!” Editor-in-Chief of New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako hits the roof on New Patriotic Party (NPP) and opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) bigwigs involved in the practice of illegal mining.
Illegal small-scale mining, in local parlance called “galamsey”, has over the years become the bane of the country as several of the nation’s water bodies are destroyed and also claimed lives.
There have been numerous calls on governments to rid the country of illegal miners but they have come to naught.
It’s amazing how previous and successive governments keep failing to nip the menace in the bud, but it’s however been revealed on Wednesday's edition of Peace FM’s flagship programme, "Kokrokoo", that ace investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas will soon release an explosive investigative piece on the faces behind the illegal activity.
Giving excerpts of what Ghanaians should expect from the yet-to-be released investigative piece, Kweku Baako noted that galamsey operations have soared high in the country due to the roles that party gurus play in the sector, using their influence to maneuver their way through the illegal business with sheer impunity.
He noted that if the leaders, politicians, Mineral Commission, Forestry Commission and the various stakeholders will be “honest with themselves and sincere, Kwami, it will be about 60% of the solution.”
Mr. Baako expressed anger over the ‘craze for money’ by party kingpins and their involvement in the illegal activity and further blamed them for not doing much to curb the menace.
“They’re all part of it and for me; I’m a very angry person when it comes to this matter…What irritates me is when I see them; I hear them pretend they’re prescribing solutions to the matter. It irritates me. And I’m telling you, elements of the two main political parties are part of it. There may be other party members in it but because they haven’t tasted power, they haven’t had the opportunity. They do not have the opportunity to manipulate the system and pretend they’re doing something about it when they’re in fact neck deep…they manipulate the system and have their way in the galamsey business, but pretend they are fighting the menace…what sort of money at all are they looking for. I mean people in top position and those at the bottom are all part, they are destroying the environment and they don’t care"
“What sort of corruption is this? What kind of impunity is this? What sort of money are they looking for? All of them, from top to bottom; I’m telling you. I’m telling you. It is so annoying and it’s so money, money, money and they don’t care!” he lamented out on Peace FM's Kokrokoo.
Kweku Baako refused to mention names of government and political actors behind the galamsey business, stating emphatically that the Anas’ investigative footage will put to shame such characters.
"If you arrest them (especially the Chinese) today, tomorrow they are released because of their political connections....What is annoying is that right after they are released they go back to the galamsey site to continue with the illegal deeds. There is a certain Chinese woman based in Kumasi who is all over the place showing impunity, she goes about snapping pictures of some big men in Ghana and circulating them on social media to show how politically connected she is. She’s very insolent because some party gurus in the NDC were dealing with her while in power and now some NPP party gurus are also dealing with her, so for her, head or tail she’s a winner. I just don’t understand how come she’s so powerful. But sooner than latter all of this will stop.
“I’ve stopped short of mentioning names because the time for us to name and shame is coming and it will be very explosive”, adding that the investigations the multiple award-winning journalist made about the Judiciary will be just “chicken feed” as compared to the illegal mining investigations.
“And indeed I don’t think we care who will be mentioned or who will be fingered. I don’t care because really it’s too much,” he stressed. |
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