Galamsey: Let’s deal with the powers behind- Yaw Acheampong Boafo
“The government must be honest and bold and fish out this evil axis of p[owerful interests engaged in a wanton destruction of our environment and deal with them decisively irrespective of the status of the individuals involved,” he said.
The President of the Ghana Bar Association, Yaw Acheampong Boafo has called for a firmer and bolder step by the government to deal with the devastating ‘galamsey’ menace.
According to him, the state ought to be bold and deal with the powers behind it.
Addressing the Bar at its 2024 Annual Conference, Mr Acheampong said, “We cannot deal with galamsey by organizing public for a and making noise on our airwaves,”
He said that “the government must be honest and bold and fish out this evil axis of p[owerful interests engaged in a wanton destruction of our environment and deal with them decisively irrespective of the status of the individuals involved.”
The GBA President also condemned the recent blame game and equalization comments made by members of Parliament on the issue describing it as a sign of An uncaring political elite only interested in holding lofty positions in government.
Scholarships and Social Justice
Additionally, Mr Acheampong called on current and future governments to implement policies that will improve and make public school education accessible to the poor and marginalized.
And maintained that the award of government scholarships should be informed by real merit and the economic and financial needs of beneficiaries.
He therefore condemned the situation where such scholarships are rather awarded to children of the rich and connected and thus called for a review of how government scholarships are awarded or distributed.
Conduct of Public Officers Bill
Furthermore, in his last Bar address as the Association’s president, Mr Acheampong was not enthused about the delay in the passage of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill.
When passed, the bill will be very key in ensuring high standards of integrity and accountability in public office and reducing corruption-related acts.
The Association thus called on the Executive and Legislature to work together in ensuring its passage before the expiration of the current government and in the lifetime of the current president.
