Excavator Destruction: Go To Court – Akufo-Addo To Galamseyers

President Akufo-Addo has challenged individuals against the methods deployed to clamp down the activities of illegal miners to seek redress in court.

The government has deployed 400 soldiers to confiscate and burn equipment, including excavators and changfang machines detected at a 100-meter radius of water bodies where illegal mining (galamsey) activities are prohibited.

More than 500 pieces of equipment have been destroyed as part of Operation Halt to end illegal mining.

This modus operandi has been greeted with some opposition, but President Akufo-Addo holds a contrary view.

“I know there are some who believe that the ongoing exercise of ridding our water bodies and forest zones of harmful equipment and machinery is unlawful and, in some cases, harsh.

“I strongly disagree, and I would advise those who take a contrary view to go to court to vindicate their position if they so wish. That is what the rule of law is all about,” President Akufo-Addo said.

The President further urged Ghanaians, including those advocating for the protection of illegal miners, to channel their support to the government’s fight against the age-long menace.

He explained that any person who, without a valid license, conveys any equipment onto a piece of land purportedly to conduct search, reconnaissance, prospecting, exploring, or mining for a mineral, commits grievous crimes against the law.

“The presence of changfans in water bodies is illegal, as is the unlawful use of excavators in protected forest zones. The devastation caused by these equipment is nothing short of evil, and we should not compromise in our efforts to protect our environment, forest reserves, and water bodies,” he voiced out.

Making a call for the support of all in the fight against galamsey, the President said, “I appeal to all Ghanaians, including the opposition who are so doing, to rally behind government in its efforts to stamp out far-reaching illegality and criminality, rather than advocate for the protection of non-existing rights of persons caught in this evil activity.”

He used the occasion to applaud the Operation Halt team. He said, “Let me pause to pay tribute to officers, men and women of the Ghana Armed Forces who have stepped forward to perform their patriotic duties in this exercise. They deserve the laud praise of the nation.”

President Akufo-Addo was speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony to commence a Law Village Project in Accra Wednesday, May 26.

The government launched ‘Operation Halt’ in a renewed fight against galamsey, and their operations began on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in the Central and Western Regions.

Despite an initial war waged against the galamsey menace, the illegal practice continues to threaten the environment, polluting water bodies and depleting the country’s forest reserves.

In recent times, Ghana’s cocoa sector is facing a crisis because of the ripple effects of the activities of illegal miners.

Small-scale miners fight back

Meanwhile, small-scale miners have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government to end the destruction of their properties, or else they would respond with a demonstration.

“We are giving the government 7 days to address these concerns. If nothing is heard from them, we will embark on a three-day nationwide demonstration,” The Small-Scale Miners Association said.

Its Communications Director for the association, Abdul Razak Alhassan, explained that the military was terrorizing its operations in a press conference.

According to him, they are exempted from action by the military recently deployed to clamp down illegal mining activities because their sites are not close to river bodies.

Addressing the media at Ntaferewaso in the Twifo-Atti Morkwa District of the Central Region, he said, “ the military was deployed to specific river bodies, but we are seeing a situation where they veer into communities with licensed small-scale miners and end up burning their equipment”.

This latest action to fight the menace, popularly known as galamsey, comes after the Stakeholder Dialogue on Small Scale Mining.