Helicopter Crash: It’s Now Time To Attack Galamseyers— Nii Lante Vanderpuye

Following the helicopter disaster that killed important government officials in AdansiAkrofuom, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the Coordinator of the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), has called for stepped-up efforts to combat illegal mining.

During a flower-laying ceremony on Friday, August 8, Vanderpuye stated that a complete commitment to abolishing galamsey was the best way to honor the lost.

“For the lives of these people, I would say we should go all out and finish these galamsey people. I will support any decision to go all out in this situation.

“These people have sacrificed their lives for the sake of ending galamsey. If they’ve made that sacrifice for us as a country, we have no excuse but to end galamsey,” he stated.

A Ghana Armed Forces Z-9 helicopter was apparently on its way to Obuasi when it crashed on Wednesday, August 6, in the Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region. The chopper vanished from radar.

Government leaders such as Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammad and Defense Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah were among the deceased.

Three members of the flying crew, Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, also lost their lives.

Friday, August 15 has been set aside for a state funeral. To verify identities, samples of the deceased’s remains have been transported to South Africa for DNA analysis.

Galamsey Fight: Partisan Politics Is A Big Problem!

During the conversation, Vanderpuye, who was extremely emotional, cautioned that the death of such heroes should mark a turning point in the fight against environmental destruction.

“I wish I had the authority; it would be war. We can’t lose these people and still allow others to remain in the forests and rivers, destroying our environment,” he said.