Dr. Tony Aidoo, Ghana’s former ambassador to the Netherlands, has cautioned President John Mahama to put an immediate stop to the galamsey threat before it takes more of his cabinet members.
Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, August 9, he clearly attributed the government’s battle against illegal mining to last Wednesday’s deadly chopper crash, which killed eight people, including two cabinet ministers.
“To be frank, I had a personal connection with only three of the unfortunate victims of the helicopter crash: Dr. Omane Boamah, Dr. Sarpong, and Dr. Murtala Mohammed,” he said.
“Anytime I remember the departed, it is usually with teary eyes, but I am not here to eulogise nor to pay another apologetic tribute. This will be a very tiny voice among the worldwide tributes following the avoidable national tragedy.”
The former Senior Presidential Aide emphasized that human error, not divine intervention, was to blame for the deaths.
“Even though faith says we must eulogise the dead, we must look behind and look for the cause — why did they die? People will say, ‘Oh, the Lord gave us and the Lord takes.’ I say that God did not take. It was we who gave, by our mistake, an avoidable death.”
NDC Vice Chairman Dr. Samuel Sarpong, former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, Defence Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, and three crew members, Sgt. Ernest Addo Mensah, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, and Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, were killed in the crash.
“Why were they in the air? They were in the air because they were going to fight galamsey,” Dr. Aidoo said.
“President Mahama must kill the galamsey menace before it ends his members of cabinet.”
The best way to honor the victims, he continued, would be to take quick action on the galamsayers
Source: newsthemegh.com