Former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Inusah Fuseini, believes the government is dragging its feet on the fight against illegal mining as he pointed to perpetrators being left off the hook without arrest and prosecution.
According to him, “the government has never acted on its words on the numerous promises made towards the fight against illegal mining since they came to power”.
He added that “the government lacks the commitment to prosecute people who are engaged in illegality”.
“Does it mean that all along they don’t know those who are financiers and kingpins of the galamsey? What are conspiracy, abetment, and facilitating in our laws for? If you know that some people are facilitating the commission of a crime, are they not guilty of that crime?
“For them to say that we are changing gear, it looks weird because we have all known and always known that most of the young men in the galamsey sites are just workers. And because of the capital-intensive nature of the activity, people have to sponsor and invest in that activity,” he stated.
He cited comments by the current Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Abu Jinapor, at a press conference in Accra, about the government adopting new strategies in the fight against illegal small-scale mining.
At the press conference, the Mr Jinapor indicated that “over one hundred and eighty people have been jailed and over two hundred are on trial for their involvement in illegal mining, adding that the government will also deal with those behind the menace”.
However, Mr Fusieni is of the view that “if you are a government and you know those who are the enablers of that activity, and you sit and watch them, then you are now saying you are changing gear; if they (government) have admitted that they are now going after those people then they have been negligent or probably have not been committed to the fight against illegal small-scale mining.”
According to Mr. Inusah Fuseini, the government knows those behind the illegal mining activities in the country but has refused to go after the main perpetrators.
He encouraged the government to arrest the sponsors to curb the menace.