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He said mere allegations on some of his appointees won't be enough to open criminal proceedings against them.
The President said this at a national dialogue on small-scale mining organized by the Minister of Land and Natural Resources in Accra.
Nana Akufo-Addo, who has been criticised in the past for letting some of his appointees, who have been accused of aiding and abetting galamsey activities go scot-free, said he will only act on such whistle-blowing based on evidence.
âIâm determined to enforce the laws of illegal mining no matter the subject â high or lowâ, the President said.
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âIâll, however, not act on hearsay or mere allegations without moreâ, he noted.
However, he added: âI will not hesitate to act, though, when the evidence is hard before the police and I would do so irrespective of the standing of the person or persons involvedâ.
That, according to him, âis the true meaning of equality before the lawâ.
Mr Akufo-Addo also said: âI want to build on the modest progress made in my first termâ.
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President Akufo-Addo
âI want to learn from our shortcomings and receive productive input from this forum for purposes of enhancing the regulation of the sectorâ, he noted.
He said: âOut of this consultative dialogue, I hope weâll build a national consensus around a national policy on small-scale miningâ.
Hopefully, he noted, âat the end of the day, we should be able to build a broad-based national consensus around the necessity to stamp out the menace of illegal small-scale mining and the need to support and grow a responsible small-scale miningâ.