• Haruna Iddrisu has noted that there is no law in the country, currently, that supports the burning of excavators after they are confiscated
• He has challenged the president to produce an evidence that shows that there is a law that supports the burning of excavators
• He asked the house to summon the Attorney-General for questioning on why the excavators were burnt
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has asked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to show evidence of the law that backs the burning of the excavators which were confiscated by the military at some illegal mining sites.
According to him, there is no law that backs the act and called out on the president to pinpoint a particular law in the country’s law codes and constitution.
He said this while responding to series of motions made by the Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
“I read news reports of the president’s pronouncement of excavators and burning of excavators…we will want to summon the Attorney-General to this house in accordance with Article 88 of the Constitution as the principal advisor to government, why the president should not be held in check for being in breach of the laws of Ghana and the Constitution of Ghana. Some evidence or material must be provided to show that burning excavators is sanctioned by the laws of Ghana and I wait to see that law,” he said.
Haruna Iddrisu, like many other critics, also bashed the president for asking complainers to go to court on the burning of excavators. He said before Parliament that he [Akufo-Addo] should instead uphold the law and hold himself accountable.
“He (president) is comfortable that people should go to court. We want him to lead, the lawful republic of Ghana with his oath to uphold the constitution and the laws of Ghana and to hold himself accountable to the laws of Ghana, no law in Ghana today permits the burning of excavators,” he said.
Meanwhile, the burning of excavators has become the norm for the military and the team that is in charge of fighting against galamsey operations in the country.
So far, about 8 out of the 11 excavators that were confiscated recently have been burnt into ashes by some military operatives.