Prof. Karikari claims political parties "refuse" to speak at Galamsey out of concern about losing votes

According to Professor Kwame Karikari, political parties in Ghana are hesitant to make combating illegal mining, or galamsey, a top priority because they are worried about losing votes in the next election.

He clarified that although these parties are still interacting with the public and trying to win their support for the elections on December 7th, they are not tackling the galamsey threat because some politicians profit from the illegal business.

“For the 9th time, Ghanaians are preparing to vote in the 4th Republic, to elect a president and parliamentarians. The major political parties, along with a few new entrants, are clamoring for votes, but what is the nature, character, and core promise of democracy in the 4th Republic? In an election campaign, political parties refuse to address major issues like galamsey because they fear losing votes, as their leaders and financiers are beneficiaries of it,” Prof. Karikari asserted.

Also Read: Bawumia: Ho is to be upgraded to metropolitan status this year

Prof. Karikari, leader of the Friends of Akoto Ampaw, also questioned the state of Ghana’s democracy, saying, “I’m sure we all have many questions about the democracy of the 4th Republic.” He spoke these things at the inaugural public lecture in memory of Akoto Ampaw, a human rights attorney who died a year ago.

In collaboration with the University of Ghana's Institute of African Studies and the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Friends of Akoto Ampaw organized the event, which was held on Wednesday, October 23, at the University of Ghana (UG).

 Discussions on "The Crisis of Civic Citizenship in Contemporary Ghanaian Democracy: Lessons from the Life and Times of the Late A. Akoto Ampaw" were part of the lecture, which had as its theme "The Problems of Ghana's 4th Republic."