He noted that, provided there is enough evidence, the law will take its course, irrespective of the individual’s standing.
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Galamsey: I’ll act when there’s hard evidence against my appointees – Akufo-Addo
President Nana Akufo-Addo has said he will not hesitate to deal with any individual who is caught engaging in illegal mining activities.
Galamsey: I’ll act when there’s hard evidence against my appointees – Akufo-Addo
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In recent years, allegations have been leveled against some members of the government over their involvement in the menace.
Reacting to this, the President said he is determined to crack the whip on illegal mining but added that he will not act on hearsay or mere allegations.
President Nana Akufo-Addo
Pulse Ghana
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Akufo-Addo said this during an address at the National Dialogue on Small Scale Mining Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
“I am determined to enforce the laws on illegal mining no matter the subject, high or low. I will, however, not act on hearsay or mere allegations without more. I will not hesitate to act though where the evidence is hard before the police,” he said, as quoted by Myjoyonline.
“And I will do so irrespective of the standing of the person or persons involved. That is the true meaning of equality before the law.”
In 2017, the Akufo-Addo government waged a war on illegal mining activities, locally known as galamsey, and placed a temporal ban on small-scale mining.
The Operation Vanguard taskforce was subsequently set up to guard the various illegal mining sites.
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The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation later set up a Galamstop taskforce to support the Operation Vanguard team in fighting illegal mining.
However, recent several reports indicate that illegal mining activities are still ongoing in some parts of the country.
President Akufo-Addo noted on Wednesday that only the collective involvement of all Ghanaians can help eliminate the menace.
He, therefore, called for a candid and non-partisan approach to fighting illegal mining in the country.
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“There are aspects of our national life which are of first subject matters of partisan politics. We must however come to the understanding that small scale mining with the requirement to do away with the illegalities in that sector should be beyond partisan politics.
“Some subjects simply cannot be part of our everyday politicking and I use this forum to insist that illegal small-scale mining and matters relating to it should be one of such issues requiring national efforts,” Akufo-Addo added.
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