Akufo-Addo's Promise to Put Presidency on the Line Over Illegal Mining Was "Figure of Speech": Charles Bissue

• Nana Akufo-Addo's famous quote about putting his presidency on the line to fight illegal mining, aka galamsey, has been given a new meaning
• According to a former presidential staffer Charles Bissue, the president did not mean literally when he said "I am prepared to put my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey"
• Charles Bissue said on a current affairs programme that aired on April 25, 2023, that the promise by the president was a mere figure of speech

A former presidential staffer Charles Bissue has said he understands President Nana Akufo-Addo's promise to put his presidency on the line to fight illegal mining as a mere figure of speech.

Charles Bissue claims the president did not literally mean he would sacrifice his presidential ambitions in order to succeed at stamping out the environmental devastation caused by illegal small-scale mining in minerals-rich regions in Ghana.

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"For me, it was a figure of speech. Meaning that 'I want to deal with this matter [illegal mining]," Bissue told Evans Mensah, host of the current affairs programme, PM Express, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Akufo-Addo promise to end galamsey at all cost warms heart of Ghanaians

Akufo-Addo earned massive praise from Ghanaians and social commentators when in 2017, he made what was then a bold promise to put his presidency on the line to win the fight against illegal mining.

"I have said in Cabinet, and perhaps this is the first time I am making this public. I am prepared to put my presidency on the line in the fight against galamsey," he said six months after he took the presidential oath.

Nana Akufo-Addo made the bold promise when he addressed a two-day workshop on galamsey for traditional leaders in Ghana.

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At the same event, the president also said the galamsey menace was destroying water bodies and lush vegetation in Ghana and the "right thing" to was to fight it head-on, despite the consequences.

“If, by the grace of God, my party allows me to go again [contest for the presidency again] and I have the health and everything to go again but do not get it again, then I will say to myself: ‘Well, this is a choice I have to make as a human being.’ Do you do what is right or what you think will make you get along? I think you do what is right and what you are required to do.”

Social media reacts to Charles Bissue's figure of speech explanation

YEN.com.gh has compiled a few of the reactions to Bissue's comments below.

Amo tweeting @amohuseinn said:

"How do you allow someone who was caught on camera engaging in bribes/corruption and galamsey to talk about galamsey?"

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GhanaBeyondAid @tarmacroval said:

"Joynews should have interviewed Kennedy Agyapong rather than Charles Bissue. Charles is a true certified corrupt galamseyer. Nothing sensible will come out of his mouth. On the other hand, Kennedy does have an honest outburst once in a while."

King James (@sedembadasu3) also said:

"So they always think they can explain away everything. Today, it’s the case that the President is speaking figuratively."

Charles Bissue falls out with presidency over alleged corruption

YEN.com.gh reported previously that Charles Bissue fell out with Jubilee House following allegations that he used his public office for profit and personal gains when he served as Secretary to the now-defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).

He was captured in a video collecting a wad of cash from an undercover reporter.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) opened investigations into the allegations following Tiger Eye's investigative report titled “Galamsey Fraud Part I”.

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Although the OSP said in January 2023 that it has concluded investigations into the allegations its findings have not been made public.

Charles Bissue has always denied the allegations against him.

Source: YEN.com.gh