Speaking for the first time on the matter at a sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of the Law Village Project in Accra on Wednesday, April 26, 2021, Akufo-Addo justified his approach and urged Ghanaians to support his government to put an end to galamsey.
“I know there are some who believe that the ongoing exercise of ridding our water bodies and forest zones of harmful equipment and machinery is unlawful and, in some cases, harsh," the president said.
“I strongly disagree, and I would advise those who take a contrary view to go to court to vindicate their position if they so wish. That is what the rule of law is all about.”
“The Ghana Law Reports of modern times are littered with cases in which my clients thought it necessary to challenge government action. On the majority of occasions, the courts upheld my contentions, in a few others, they did not.
The rule of law, he said “does not recognise social status, religious persuasion, political affiliation, ethnic origins or regional adherence” but “merely the law and precedent, the ancient common law doctrine of stare decisis”.
President Akufo-Addo noted that any person who, without a valid licence, conveys any equipment onto a piece of land purportedly to conduct activities for the search, reconnaissance, prospecting, exploration or mining of a mineral, commits a grievous crime against the law.
He said: “Indeed, a person in possession of a valid licence but undertakes mining in water bodies or mines unlawfully, in protected forest zones also commits an illegality”.
President Akufo-Addo appealed to all Ghanaians, including the opposition, to rally behind his government in its efforts to stamp out the illegality and criminality.
Some Ghanaians have questioned the rationale for burning the excavators when they could be confiscated and used for other projects for the state or reclamation of the devastated mining sites.
However, the government and its agencies, including the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, as well as the Ministry of Defence, have justified the burning of the excavators.