NAPO Denies Claim That He Said Seized Excavators Will Be Returned To Miners
- Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh's team has refuted claims that NAPO had promised to return seized excavators to illegal miners
- According to NAPO's spokesperson, Fiifi Boafo, the video in which the NPP running mate is seen making the claim was doctored
- He said NAPO stated that a future NPP government would support small-scale miners to become sustainable and responsible
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The Office of the vice-presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has refuted claims that NAPO promised to return seized excavators to small-scale miners.
The remark followed a circulating video in which NAPO was allegedly seen making promises to the chiefs and people of Prestea Huni Valley and Mpohor in the Western Region.
Per the video, NAPO stated that if the NPP wins the 2024 general elections, seized excavators belonging to small-scale miners and illegal miners would be returned to them.
Source: Getty Images
However, NAPO’s team stated that the vice-presidential candidate has said no such thing.
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According to the statement signed by Fiifi Boafo, the spokesperson of NAPO, the video was doctored and did not represent the views of the vice-presidential candidate.
Fiifi Boafo explained that NAPO had said a future NPP government would grant access to people interested in sustainable and responsible small-scale mining.
He noted that the reportage that Dr Opoku Prempeh would return the seized excavators was misleading and should be disregarded.
NAPO dismisses radical approach to ending galamsey
Earlier, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh dismissed calls for the shooting and killing of people engaged in illegal mining.
NAPO said the suggestion could not be seen as a panacea for addressing the galamsey menace in the country.
In a video that has since gone viral, NAPO said the opposition National Democratic Congress was being hypocritical about their stance on the galamsey menace.
He said their support for a shoot-and-kill tactic to end galamsey was inhumane and inappropriate and ran contrary to earlier promises they made to mining communities to free galamsey miners who the ruling government had arrested.
He said the NPP government would not support such a brutal approach.
According to him, the NPP government would enhance the community mining programme to ensure that small-scale miners could mine responsibly within their approved concessions rather than destroy the environment.
GFL demands resignation of Lands Minister
YEN.com.gh reported that the Ghana Federation of Labour has demanded the immediate resignation of Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Lands and Natural Resources Minister.
Their demand followed the minister’s recent remarks about growing calls for declaring a state of emergency to address the illegal mining situation in the country.
At a media engagement in Accra on September 11, 2024, Jinapor said a state of emergency would be a draconian measure in addressing the illegal mining menace.
Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
