Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, a former United Nations Senior Governance Adviser, has observed that Ghana as a country boasts of a lot of hypocritical leaders.
Speaking in relation to the fight against galamsey, Prof Agyeman-Duah noted that the leaders of the country, whether religious or political, know the cause of galamsey, yet are playing the usual blame game.
“One thing we have to understand is that this country, our political leaders and leaders across board - religious leaders and all - there are a lot of hypocrites and dishonest people in leadership across board.
“That is a fact. We are hypocrites and we are very dishonest. On galamsey, everybody knows what is going on but for the sake of politics, to win power, when one government is doing something those in opposition will go around and say look ‘when we come we will restore you’ but of course, when they come they will not restore them. That is the level of hypocrisy and dishonesty we have, that is what is killing us,” the Chief Executive Officer of the John Agyekum Kuffuor Foundation said in a TV3 interview.
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated his commitment to deal with the galamsey menace in the country.
Addressing the Chiefs in Kumasi on Wednesday, October 5, the President said, “80 per cent of the lands in this country continue to be under your custody, much of it having been acquired through the blood and sacrifices of your ancestors.
"The remainder of 20 per cent which I hold in trust of the people of Ghana, is derived from state acquisition from you. What this means is that ultimately, the welfare of the state of the lands is our joint responsibility, although by statute the minerals in the soil belong to the president in trust for the people.”
You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV:
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Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah