General News of Saturday, 29 May 2021
Source: peacefmonline.com
2021-05-29
General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party, John Boadu
General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu has countered the approach adopted by the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor and supported by the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, which is burning illegal mining equipment.
The “Operation Halt” Military team comprising the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Air Force and Ghana Navy have been burning excavators and destroying changfang machines used in galamsey.
Over 200 machines have been destroyed in the fight against galamsey.
Addressing the issue on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, John Boadu stated this is just a temporary way of resolving the menace.
To him, burning the excavators won’t solve the problem unless the mining and environment institutions act appropriately and according to the laws.
“The issue is not about whether there are big men behind it or not. The issue is not about whether they are NPP members or not nor NDC or CPP members. The issue is about that there will be compliance with the mining regulations.
“As quickly as possible, the Lands Minister should put together a programme to regulate this . . . If the EPA doesn’t function effectively, no matter the regulations, it won’t be successful. If the Minerals Commission doesn’t function well, there will be no success no matter the initiatives. If the Geological Service department and Forestry Commission don’t function well, there will no success,” he said.
He added, “If you’re not bold and courageous as a government, you cannot take that step, but the step should be a temporary measure. It cannot be a permanent feature in solving or clamping down on galamsey.”