I didn’t say I’ll win galamsey fight in four months – Mahama

The president says he didn’t promise to win the fight against galamsey in four months. The President, John Dramani Mahama, Thursday reiterated the government’s commitment to combating the menace of illegal mining.

He said the fight against galamsey was a complex one and that when he was vying for the Presidency, he did not indicate that he would win that fight in four months.

“Yet we will not give up. Our gallant men of the armed forces and security services are up to the fight,” President Mahama stated in his address to Ghanaian workers at the National May Day Parade at the Blackstar Square in Accra.

“And we will continue to score successes against the selfish companies and individuals, who are destroying our forests and polluting our water bodies. As far as the fight against galamsey is concerned, I say aluta continua.”

Touching on some major flagship programmes of his administration, the President said, he had launched various flagship job creation interventions that were aimed at offering the teeming unemployed youth avenues for sustainable employment.

He said he had launched the One Million Coders Programme, which had elicited interest from close to 150,000 applicants up to date.

He noted that this was an initiative that would equip the nation’s youth with world-class coding and digital skills in today’s rapidly changing world.

President Mahama said he also launched the Adwumawura initiative last Monday, which aims to facilitate the creation of 10,000 new businesses every year for young people, with a special focus on empowering the nation’s youth for the job market.

He said the initiative was expected to create at least 20,000 decent jobs annually.

“And only yesterday, I launched the National Apprenticeship Programme, which targets to train about 500,000 youth over five years with Artisanal skills,” he said.

He said these initiatives were not isolated interventions, and that they were interconnected pillars of a broader vision to build a brilliant inclusive and future-ready Ghanaian economy, an economy that was not only recovering, but one that would thrive, innovate, and lead Ghanaians to prosperity.

President Mahama said through increased investment in technical and vocational education, support for continuous professional development, and better alignment between education and the labour market, the people would be equipped with the needed tools not just to survive, but to thrive.

He underscored his Administration’s commitment to decentralizing opportunities and that it should not be the case that the only real chance at prosperity existed for those living in Accra or Kumasi.

“We will work to bring investment, jobs, and infrastructure to every region of this country, so that every Ghanaian worker from Wa to Aflao, from Bole to Keta, from Drobo to Enchi can have a fair and equal shot at building a meaningful life for themselves,” he said.

“Our national reset agenda cannot succeed without labour at the table. And that is why I will strengthen the institutional relations between the government and organized labour through regular structured dialogue.”

President Mahama said the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations would not operate as an isolated entity but as an active convener of tripartite collaborations where Government business and labour would meet regularly to assess progress to address grievances and shape policies that work for everyone.

Mr Joshua Ansah, the Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress, on behalf of Organized Labour, congratulated President Mahama on the massive electoral victory and spectacular comeback; saying “It is a clear testament of the overwhelming confidence the Ghanaian people have in you and your party.”

He said this year’s May Day theme, “Resetting Pay and Working Conditions in Ghana – The Role of Stakeholders,” spoke directly to the critical moment being faced as a nation and as workers.

He noted that it was a call for transformation — not only in how they value labour, but also in how they shape the future of work, wages, and welfare of the Ghanaian worker.

Source: GNA

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