Handling of mining activities caused NPP defeat in Talensi, says Duanab Wuni

The district chief executive for Talensi in the Upper East Region, Thomas Duanab Wuni, has said the New Patriotic Party’s defeat in the 2020 parliamentary election in the area was largely due to the manner in which the government handled mining issues. 

He said although the party’s convincing campaign message helped to win votes in the central and western zones of the district, it failed to get the endorsement of voters in the eastern zone where mining activities are rife, to seal the victory. 

Addressing the media after successfully completing his nomination process to contest the parliamentary primary, Duanab intimated that the eastern zone voted against the party with displeasure, rising from the way the government handled issues related to small-scaling mining popularly known as “galamsey” which was a chief source of livelihood for the people. 

“I had a spell, one, at the by-election. Then in 2016, I was there. In 2020, I repeated and 2020 showed class that we were likely to win the elections, but for policy issues that derailed our work. 

“I must add that in 2020, in the central and the west zones, we won and beat the NDC convincingly. It was in the eastern zone that we lost and it was because gold mining is their main staple and our handling of galamsey issues nationwide cost our party.”

But with the introduction of the community mining policy in the district and the implementation of several other youth-centred interventions by the government, Duanab was hopeful chances of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would increase in the upcoming general elections in 2024, leading to winning the Talensi seat. 

His position as the district chief executive and the good relationship he enjoys with the people over the years, he also noted, had grown his popularity which was an added advantage to helping the party win the seat from the opposition National Democratic Congress.

“But I do not think that is going to happen because the government has brought a new approach to mining and that is community mining. And if the government is able to set up three or four centres for the youth, we would be making headway to winning the election”.

“The NDC has a new candidate and I believe that he is coming to be trailing me in terms of popularity and that makes me stand tall. I have developed a niche for myself and I intend to push that going into 2024,” he said. 

Touching on his plans for the constituency when he is given the nod and eventually wins the parliamentary election, Duanab stated he would empower the youth through skills training and job creation. To achieve that, Duanab said he would work closely with the corporate organizations in the area to establish skills training centres. 

For Duanab, his third attempt this time will be successful to enable him to give the people of the Talensi constituency better representation in parliament to campaign for the development of the area. 

Reporting by Senyalah Castro in the Upper East Region

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