The 2024 presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President John Dramani Mahama, has vowed to put an end to the menace of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey), and ensure that all persons caught engaging in the act are thrown into jail, if he is elected to return to the seat of government as the next President.

The former president made the promise during a campaign stop at a community durbar in Aboabo No. 4 in the Dormaa Central constituency in the Bono Region.

Reports indicate that while some of the people at the community durbar greeted the promise with applause and cheers, others were skeptical, and referred to the former President’s previous position and utterances on the fight against galamsey.

The promise by the 2024 presidential candidate of the NPP to deal with galamseyers comes on the back of increasing demands for a complete ban on all mining activities, given the devastation of the environment by illegal small-scale miners.

Some analysts, however, believe the promise by the former President has exposed him as being an inconsistent person, who only seeks to gain political capital out of issues of concern to the people.

Former President John Dramani Mahama as well as leading members of his party’s communication team are infamously known for encouraging the work of galamseyers, reaping electoral advantage from their position in the 2020 general elections.

Addressing a rally in the Mpohor constituency in the Western Region on October 22, 2020, former President Mahama made a solemn pledge to grant amnesty to all galamseyers imprisoned under the Addo-led administration, if he won the 2020 election.

But, in sharp U-turn, the same Mr Mahama says he is now prepared to jail the very people he had previously promised to grant jail amnesty.