Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Kwame Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, has claimed that illegal and small-scale mining activities—commonly called galamsey—are increasingly dominated by individuals aligned with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Bosome Freho, many miners with NPP affiliations have withdrawn from operations and handed over their equipment to NDC-linked miners who now feel politically protected.
“Today, go to the communities—all the NPP miners have now handed over their tools to the NDC miners,” Asafo-Adjei alleged. “They will tell you that your government is in power, so front it. Because when the people come and it is me—an NPP person—they won’t let me work.”
The lawmaker, who says he resides in a mining community, attributed the shift to fears of political targeting and uneven enforcement of anti-galamsey regulations.
“I live in a mining community. All the miners who were NPP or who have affiliations with the NPP have handed over their tools to the NDC miners,” he stressed. “The NDC people have now invested heavily in mining.”
His remarks add to ongoing concerns about politicisation of the fight against illegal mining, a problem successive governments have struggled to curb despite repeated crackdowns and policy interventions.
