“This Government Has Surrendered to Galamsey” – Afenyo-Markin Accuses NDC of Funding Galamsey via Gold Board
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin criticizes NDC government for enabling illegal mining through Gold Board purchases
- Afenyo-Markin accuses NDC government of enabling galamsey through Gold Board purchases
- He claims the government lacks commitment to fighting illegal mining and endangers NAIMOS personnel
- Minority Leader warns buying untraceable gold fuels complicity, not enforcement
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has charged the NDC government with enabling illegal mining, claiming that its decision to allow the Gold Board (Goldbod) to purchase gold from small-scale miners effectively finances galamsey operations.
Speaking on the 2026 Budget in Parliament on Thursday, November 27, Afenyo-Markin argued that the government has “surrendered” to illegal mining rather than tackling it.
“This government has surrendered to galamsey activities. This government has become its enabler,” he stated.
He criticized the budget’s provision empowering the Gold Board to buy gold from small-scale miners, saying it contradicts the government’s purported efforts to combat illegal mining and essentially provides state endorsement for unregulated operations.
“In this budget, the government announced the Gold Board to purchase gold from small-scale miners. They are not fighting illegal mining. The NDC government, through the Gold Board, is rather financing it. This is giving it state endorsement,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin also highlighted the risks faced by personnel fighting illegal mining. He recalled the eight lives lost while NAIMOS members were traveling to launch an anti-galamsey program, noting the government’s inaction.
“Today, members of NAIMOS are getting hurt, killed, or shot at in a fight their own government has abandoned,” he lamented.
He further criticized the government for lacking the seriousness and commitment necessary to curb illegal mining. Afenyo-Markin said that the Gold Board’s purchase of gold from unverified miners fuels complicity rather than enforcement.
“Their own government is demonstrating neither seriousness nor commitment necessary to defeat illegal mining. Instead, it has set up a Gold Board to buy gold it cannot trace, from miners it cannot verify, in a system designed for complicity rather than enforcement. If this government cannot trace the gold, it must not buy the gold,” he stressed.
