Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the National Coordinator for the District Roads Improvement Programme (DRIP), has shared his honest view after the Presidential Media Encounter concerning illegal mining (galamsey) specifically.
He made his statement after His Excellency John Dramani Mahama met with various media houses to deliver his statements and response to concerns about the current troubling affairs on Wednesday, September 10, 2025.
Speaking in an interview with Accra based television station, Mr. Vanderpuye emphasized that he has always viewed the fight against galamsey not as a one-time event, but as an ongoing process requiring sustained commitment.
“I never thought the fight against galamsey was going to be an event, but rather a process. There are a number of interventions in place, such as the Blue Water Guards and others. It tells you that there is a plan, except that the plans in place have not yet yielded the results people are expecting,” he said.
He also believes that the President’s response did not sit well with the Ghanaians. According to him, he thinks the people were rather disappointed that he did not declare his acceptance of the state of emergency.
“The only response that people were not too happy with was the president’s on galamsey. I think people came there expecting that he would accept and declare a state of emergency. But listening to various media houses and people’s reactions, it appears that is the one response many were not too happy about,” he said.
Despite everything, he continued to express support for the President’s handling of the situation, offering praise for his leadership.
“I think that he handled it intelligently. He made it clear that indeed there could be a state of emergency, but that would be after he had exhausted all the opportunities and the legal regimes available to him as head of state. And indeed, we haven’t exhausted them yet we still have many avenues to use,” he said.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Mirabel Serwaa Asante
