The National Coordinator of the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has dismissed claims suggesting that President John Dramani Mahama pledged to end illegal mining-commonly referred to as galamsey-within the first 120 days of his administration.
Speaking on Channel One TV's Breakfast Daily on Thursday, May 8, Vanderpuye clarified that the President's commitment to ending galamsey was not bound by any specific timeframe. "It is not a fight that will end in 120 days, and President Mahama did not say anywhere that within 120 days he will end galamsey," he stated.
According to Vanderpuye, the President's vow to tackle illegal mining should be seen as a long-term national commitment rather than a short-term fix. "He said he will end galamsey, so it could be today, one year, and others," he explained.
He urged the public to focus less on arbitrary timelines and more on the collective effort needed to eliminate the destructive practice. "What we should expect to do is that the effort being put into the fight and the sort of commitment that is being shown will be taken over by all of us to end this menace," Vanderpuye added.
