The Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, underscored the need to reinforce the mining regulations to sanitise the sector. He said the issue of illegal mining, otherwise known as galamsey, needed a holistic review and that it had been extensively captured in the Party's 2024 Election Manifesto. Therefore, his government would provide funding to the Ghana Geological Survey Authority to conduct surveys in identified mining belts across the country. That, he said, would enable the small-scale miners to have sufficient information about specific geographical sites with available gold deposits to mine. This would stop the small-scale miners from undertaking speculative mining which destroys the environment, he added. Addressing a community stakeholder engagement at Kpone in the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency of the Greater Accra Region on Tuesday, Dr Bawumia stated that his administration would provide common-user facilities and equipment for artisanal small-scale miners to get the requis ite equipment for mining. The NPP Flagbearer also assured his government's commitment to providing 'gold katcha' equipment for artisanal miners to assist in curbing the use of mercury in processing gold. Dr. Bawumia underscored the need for all stakeholders in the mining industry to rally behind government to fully roll-out measures to halt the galamsey menace in order to promote sustainable environmental practices. On water challenges facing the residents of Kpone, Dr Bawumia expressed firm commitment to lead the charge towards providing regular water supply in the area. He believed that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) must lay new pipelines in Kpone and its adjoining communities to permanently deal with the perennial water challenges in the area. Touching on the Free SHS and TVET policy, Dr Bawumia stated that the policy had benefitted 5.7 million children so far, with secondary school enrolment increasing from 800,000 in 2016 to 1.4 million at the moment. The enrolment, he said, had seen 600, 000 additional children being enrolled under the policy. The NPP Flagbearer reiterated his plans to reduce the cost of public transport by 40 per cent by introducing electric buses and reduce the cost of electricity by 50 per cent by generating 2,000 megawatts of solar power during the first four years of his administration. Dr Bawumia recalled some of the policy interventions implemented by the Akufo-Addo-led Government over the past seven years. He said the digitalisation of some public sector institutions including the DVLA, the Passport Office and the Registrar General's Department, thus, improving the delivery of public services. He reaffirmed his commitment to implementing new tax regime after granting tax amnesty to businesses and individuals, 10-year validity driver's license renewable in every five years, and procure 50,000 closed circuit (CCTV) cameras for the security agencies to be installed in district and regional capitals to minimise crime. The community stakeholder engagement, a common fe ature of Dr Bawumia's constituency-focused campaign, enabling the NPP Flagbearer to listen to the concerns of the people and chart the way forward in finding lasting solutions to them when voted into power in the December 7 Election. Source: Ghana News Agency