“Neurologists are constantly sounding the alarm on the trou­bling rise in gallbladder-related medical conditions in recent times, among patients from areas affected by galamsey,” the Minority Caucus said.

This was contained in a press statement issued and signed by the Ranking Member, Lands and Natural Resources Committee, Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, and copied to The Ghanaian Times yesterday.

It said that despite the criticism levelled against the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) government by the Majority and then Minority in Parliament for failing to tackle the issue of galamsey, the practice had worsened under the current NDC government.

“Despite the NPP’s numerous well-meaning and painstaking efforts to combat this national scourge-efforts that included the arrests, task forces, and interna­tional cooperation, the NDC, while in opposition, constantly ridiculed and undermined the fight. They accused the Akufo-Addo adminis­tration of complicity and failure,” the Minority Caucus said.

The Minority Caucus also claimed that some members of the NDC, including grassroots mem­bers and high-ranking officials, were involved in galamsey activities across the country.

It said that the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) machines that were procured by the erstwhile NPP government to enhance road infrastructure were being diverted by some Metro­politan, Municipal, and District Executives (MMDCEs) to support galamsey operations.

The Minority Caucus bemoaned the circumstances under which some excavators that were seized during the official galamsey crack­down had vanished from where they were kept.

It, therefore, urged all stake­holders, including civil society organisations, environmental advocates, and the media, to hold the government accountable in the fight against galamsey.

The Minority Caucus said that the promotion of the fight against galamsey by the aforementioned stakeholders had gone down and needed to be revived.