The youth wings of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region have backed the fight against illegal mining (galamasey) in the region.

The youth wings of the two largest political parties in the region gave their unwavering support to the six months ban on illegal mining at a meeting with the minister, John Peter Amewu on Saturday.

This means the minister has a bipartisan support in the fight againt galamsey.

“I believe If we had started this fight earlier we wouldn’t have gotten this far. Stakeholders in this sector have now joined. When you go to these mining sites you will find miners who are members of NPP, NDC, CPP, PPP. The campaign started when there was a change of government so obviously, people will misconstrue that it is a political fiat against us but it is not only affecting just a group of people but all those in the mining chain,” the Ashanti Regional Youth Organiser of the NDC, Brogya Gyamfi said at the meeting.

He continued: “Traders of heavy duty machines are affected, gold buyers and a whole lot of traders in this sector. Everybody is complaining. If this move by the government seeks to bring some sanity in the sector so that we can also feel the impact on our lives, why won’t we support it? I believe it is a worthy cause we have to support. At least we have been assured by the minister that there will be some sanity after the 6 months certificate.”

"This assurance is really needed for a motivation for us to join the fight and also adhere to the best practices of mining.”

On his part, Mr Nelson Owusu Ansah, the NPP Youth Organiser, said if Ghana fails to deal with menace now, it will have a negative effect on the future generations.