The Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, has stated that licensed mining companies will be treated as illegal miners if their activities pollute water bodies.
“What they did not know is that we are not touching the licenses. It is the illegalities we are touching. Our target was protecting water bodies and their tributaries, not your license.”
“You can have a license but if you were destroying the water bodies, the soldiers were supposed to make sure that they take out the equipment that you were using. So soldiers were not out to inspect licences,” the Minister explained at a press conference held in Accra on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
He cited Kibi Goldfields mining company in the Eastern Region which had authentic documentation but said was operating unlawfully.
“They had diverted the water and are polluting the water bodies so they burned their equipment,” Mr. Nitiwul said.
This comes few days after the military task force raided and torched 9 excavators, two bulldozers and 150 water pumping machines at the mining site of Kate Gyamfua – National Women’s Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party.
Mr. Nitiwul also defended the decision of the military to burn the mining equipment of miners operating illegally.
Mr Nitiwul stressed that it wasn’t just the NPP executive’s company that had been affected by the work of the task force.
“Maybe because they [other mining companies] don’t have a political voice, they were not making noise. But their equipment was destroyed as well,” he said.
The Defence Minister noted that, the Operation Halt taskforce will start night operations.
“We know that they do that from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am. That’s how brave they are. We know, and we know the towns they are doing it in, so we will come after you. Don’t try it,” Mr Nitiwul warned.
“So if you go out there to mine, I cannot guarantee your safety when the soldiers are going to apprehend you. So I will advise you to not go out. It is not worth it.”
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
