Franklin Cudjoe, the President for IMANI Africa, has taken on former Akufo-Addo administration following the August 6 helicopter crash that claimed eight lives, including two cabinet ministers.
Speaking to Channel One TV on Saturday, August 10, Mr Cudjoe expressed condolences to the bereaved families and the nation but also faulted the previous government for failing to decisively address the illegal mining crisis.
He argued that stronger action taken in the past five to seven years could have prevented the chain of events that led to the tragedy.
“It’s hard, it’s painful. I will commiserate with the families and the rest of the country,” he said. “If something significant had been done about galamsey in the last five, six or seven years, we probably wouldn’t be here.”
Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Environment Minister Dr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, and six others — among them military personnel — were en route to Obuasi for the launch of the Responsible Co-operative Mining and Skills Development Programme (COMSDEP) when the aircraft went down in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region. The programme was aimed at combating illegal mining.
