Professor Ransford Gyampo, President of the University of Ghana chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), has expressed concerns regarding the government’s approach to a recent meeting with Organised Labour about illegal mining, often referred to as galamsey.
Prof. Gyampo accused the government of prioritizing propaganda over genuinely addressing the galamsey crisis. His remarks followed a statement from Information Minister Fatima Abubakar, which revealed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had met with Organised Labour on October 3 at the Jubilee House to discuss the illegal mining issue.
In an appearance on Eyewitness News on Friday, October 4, 2024, Prof. Gyampo criticized the government for issuing the statement without adequately briefing Organised Labour members on the meeting’s details, implying that this lack of communication undermined the meeting’s objectives.
“Every now and then, politicians are always trying to do eye service and they are only interested in scoring unnecessary political points. This statement that you are referring to that the minister of information has issued, members of organised labour have not been briefed.
“So, why is it that some selected few reps, we don’t even know how they were selected, go to meet with the president and then they are yet to brief the entire membership, and then the minister for information puts out information? Are we to be receiving information from them or we are supposed to be receiving information from our leadership?
“It is an unnecessary attempt to score political points, and unnecessary attempt at creating an impression in the sight of people that ‘we are doing something about it and labour is being too intransigent or being too difficult. These things do not help.
“You cannot fight galamsey which is an existential threat to humanity by resorting to this kind of bogus propaganda always aimed at creating in the minds of people that something is being done when really we know that nothing is being done.
“First of all, organised labour is yet to meet with its members to brief them on what already transpired. So, I don’t think that it lies within the mouth of the minister to deliberate issue that statement to create an impression that something is being done when organised labour has not even met with its membership,” he stated.
