The Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has defended President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to tackling illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, describing him as a leader who confronts challenges head-on rather than avoiding them.

In a Facebook post reacting to an upcoming JoyNews documentary on the government’s “Stop Galamsey” campaign, Mr. Tameklo asserted that the President’s actions over the past nine months demonstrate bold and measurable progress in addressing what he termed “environmental terrorism.”

“Dear JoyNews, President John Dramani Mahama does not run away from problems.

He will solve this problem,” he wrote.

The NDC legal chief emphasised that, within just nine months, the President had overseen the destruction of over 400 ‘chamfang’ machines, the confiscation of more than 500 excavators, and the seizure of over 1,000 pumping machines used in illegal mining operations across the country.

Mr. Tameklo questioned whether critics had given the President a fair assessment period, asking:

“Is nine months enough time to rebuke the President?

Can we honestly say the state of affairs would have been better or worse without these bold actions?”

He further argued that the situation of Ghana’s rivers and water bodies would have been far worse without the decisive interventions of the Mahama administration, insisting that steady progress is being made in the national fight against galamsey.

“Is there an attempt to rubbish the efforts of the President?

What is the end game for this framing?” he asked, in apparent reference to the tone of the upcoming investigative report.

Mr. Tameklo also reaffirmed his respect for the media’s constitutional role in ensuring accountability, probity, and transparency, but urged balanced and context-driven reporting on the government’s environmental policies.