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Governance Lecturer at the Central University, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, has asked President Akufo-Addo to walk his talk on stopping the illegal mining menace.

The President yesterday held a meeting with the National House of Chiefs and MMDCEs at Manhyia in Kumasi charging them as well as all Ghanaians to join hands with him to eradicate this illegal trade, locally called 'galamsey'.

The President said; "We have tried many initiatives, including that of the Community Mining Scheme, and the establishment of a new legal regime for dealing with the perpetrators of this phenomenon, which has imposed severe sanctions on those, Ghanaians and foreigners, convicted of illegal mining. Still, we have not won the fight. 

"It is obvious that, if we are to win the fight, it would require a collaborative effort to do so. The fight against Galamsey can only succeed if it is a truly national battle, which no one seeks to exploit for political gain, as we saw in the last election. The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all Fellow Ghanaians, pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future."

He also stressed that the nation should not give up on the objective, asserting, “we have to win that fight to keep our environment clean, and protect our heritage for our descendants, as you did in the past”.

Responding to the President's call, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah hoped "it doesn't turn into one of those talk shows".

"If he (President) left all his busy schedules to go to Kumasi, then I want to see action," he added, and further stressed that the President is "the symbol of the State, the only individual without a number plate on your car. You hold the symbol of the State", so, must "take steps for us to help you!"

He charged the President and all the State authorities to leave no stone unturned in fighting the galamsey.

"If we can't fight galamsey, what can we fight?", he queried.

The lecturer also slammed Ghanaians for contributing to the menace and other practices that do not help the country saying "we are so indisciplined" but prayed actions will be taken to whip them into line.