“Under our leadership, it is only government who can mine and not an individual or company,” founder of the All People’s Congress (APC) Dr Hassan Ayariga has asserted.

He spoke to the media, yesterday, Monday, September 9, 2024.

Dr Ayariga underlined the importance of voters making APC “the third force” to challenge the duopoly of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“There’s no third force unless you make it happen,” he said. “You can only make me the third force if you come out to vote.”

He said this was crucial to ensure Ghanaians were “out of challenges like galamsey”.

“We’re tired of the NDC and the NPP. We cannot go and recycle them and expect new results,” he cautioned.

“Look at our water bodies today, look at what is happening. The APC Manifesto will be launched somewhere next week. We’ll be very strict,” he informed the media, citing: “Nobody is supposed to mine in Ghana. Nobody again. We will cut down anybody, mining companies or whatever, nobody is supposed to mine.”

The accountant said to safeguard “the sovereignty of Ghana,” the APC would make sure “the only institution allowed to mine in Ghana is going to be the government of Ghana and no other institution. No individual, no company, nobody.”

“We have to protect [our] resources. We have to make sure our mining sector belongs to Ghana [indeed]. Ghana used to be called Gold Coast because we had reserves of gold. Today, the gold is being taken by foreign companies, by individuals, by galamseyers, and all that, and spoiling the water bodies. Look at the kind of kids we’re giving birth to,” he bemoaned.

The APC flagbearer rebuked “government upon government” and the NPP and NDC for allowing widespread mining for the sake of winning votes, while “they destroy the world [and] destroy Ghana”.