Ghana Chamber of Mines CEO, Ing. Ken Ashigbey, has called upon the President of Ghana and senior government officials to take action against the kingpins involved in illegal mining who continue to operate within the corridors of power.
He emphasised that the government should address not only the longstanding offenders but also those affiliated with its own party.
“I would wish that all kingpins involved in galamsey, when we arrest them, we should give them the maximum of 25 years or the maximum fine because the law permits either a fine or custodial service or both. Because of the enormity of the damage that these kingpins do to us, it is important that we exact the maximum sentence to serve as a deterrent.”
Regarding whether the 20-year sentence for Chairman Wontumi was sufficiently punitive, he expressed that it was not and raised the question, “Where are the other politically exposed persons who are parading corridors of power who are involved in this illegality? What is happening to those who are named in the Prof Frimpong Boateng’s report?
“What has happened with the Attorney General’s commissioning of EOCO to investigate two of those who are in this government? There are several MCEs, DCEs that mining is happening in the clear sight in their communities and either they are not saying anything either they are complicit or they themselves are incompetent. We are hoping that this will serve as an impetus,” he stated during an interview with Channel 1 Television.
