Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has warned members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) against involving themselves in illegal mining (galsmey) activities.According to him, anyone who engages in galamsey does so at their own risk as they will suffer severe legal consequences.
He pointed out that President John Mahama will in no way protect any member of the party found engaged in galamsey activities, adding that any NDC member or supporter involved in unlawful activities that harm water bodies and farmlands in the quest for personal profit will face the strictest of punishment.During a panel discussion on TV3 on Saturday, April 19, 2025, Tameklo—who also serves as the NDC’s Director of Legal Affairs—issued a stern warning to party members involved in galamsey, stressing that they should not expect intervention from party officials if apprehended.“If you are an NDC person and you decide to go and do galamsey, you are on your own. President Mahama will deal with you brutally. Once you make up your mind that you are going to do this, remember that you are an enemy of President Mahama. You are also an enemy of his government and of the NDC. At that point, you are an environmental terrorist.”“So, if you decide to do any of these things, don’t for a minute assume that something will happen and there will be a call for ‘order from above’. If you are expecting someone to respond to that order, you won’t find Dr Omane getting involved.””So, please, in the name of God, there are a lot of legitimate businesses you can do as an NDC member in this government. Don’t be the one to cause problems for Mahama’s government.”The Mahama government has stepped up its crackdown on galamsey by employing multiple strategies, including military deployments to mining sites, leading to numerous arrests, the ban on issuance of mining licenses, the launch of the blue water guards initiative amongst a host of others.Reports suggest that some NDC members, emboldened by the party’s return to power on January 7, 2025, are deeply engaged in illegal mining operations, a practice the government has promised not to condone.
