Given the precarious state of Ghana’s natural resources like vegetation and water bodies, Mr. Mensah-Bonsu believes that taking lives to protect the environment is justified by the constitution.

The Majority Leader made these remarks in Parliament on Tuesday after the Minority Leader, Haruna Idrissu, had described the recent burning of trucks and equipment used for sand winning in the Dalun River by soldiers of Operation Vanguard as “extrajudicial” and “excessive”.

The Minority in Parliament continued its condemnation of the incident in Parliament when the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, appeared to answer for the actions of Operation Vanguard, the government’s anti-illegal mining task-force.

The Minority legislators from the Northern Region have even said they will back any legal action against the state following the incident.

But Mr. Mensah-Bonsu argued that the actions of Operation Vanguard were well within the remit of the law.

“I do not think that the constitution, in so far as a matter is criminal, frowns upon the use of force to the extent that it may even deprive some other people of their lives. The constitution does not talk about that at all… Mr. Speaker, if we agree that what was going on was criminal, the constitution doesn’t forbid any person trying to prevent the commission of that crime from pursuing that person and asserting force which may even result in death.”

He also quoted Article 13 of the Constitution which says “no person shall be deprived of his life intentionally except in the exercise of the execution of a sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the laws of Ghana of which he has been convicted.”

The article adds that: “A person shall not be held to have deprived another person of his life in contravention of clause (1) of this article if that other person dies as the result of a lawful act of war or if that other person dies as the result of the use of force to such an extent as is reasonably justifiable in the particular circumstances: for the defence of any person from violence or for the defence of property; or in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; or for the purposes of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny; or in order to prevent the commission of a crime by that person.”

Destruction of environment ‘indefensible’

Mr. Mensah-Bonsu thus argued further that “if a robber comes to you, and you have the competence, he enters your room, you will shoot the person to save your own life. Is that criminality on your part? You should be careful where you are taking this argument.”

He reminded that illegal chainsaw operators were treated with leniency in the ’80s, but at the expense of Ghana’s forest cover.

“We said to ourselves that we should stop them but the argument at the time was that, no, let’s create an alternative livelihood for them. Today, less than 30 years after that, half of our forest cover is gone… Increasingly, we are destroying our environment and we have people who will stand up to defend what is in indefensible. Is that the way we want to grow our country?”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ‘Killing to protect the environment justified’ – Majority Leader appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament has visited Afa Yili in the Kumbungu district of the Northern Region where about 14 tipper trucks, an excavator and a motorbike were set ablaze by Operation Vanguard.

This was a follow up to the Minority legislators’ earlier call for full-scale investigations into the issue.

[contextly_sidebar id=”q0QyC6C55BmEsU1nzWvoXbmguEHdvq2y”]The Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu led the delegation on a fact-finding mission.

He announced that the Minority would head to court over the issue, after meeting with the Tamale Tipper Truck Owners Union.

The Member of Parliament for the  Kumbungu constituency, Ras Mubarak told Citi News earlier that the visit will offer the minority caucus the opportunity to commiserate with the affected truck owners.

He said the minority caucus was committed to getting justice for the affected truck owners.

The delegation also paid courtesy calls on the chiefs of Kumbungu and Dalung.

The burning of the 14 tipper trucks has gained prominence in both social and mainstream media.

That action taken by the Operation Vanguard taskforce remains a trending issue trending on the airwaves of Tamale-based radio stations.

Some concerned citizens have condemned the action and advocated the need to compensate the owners.

Truck owners demand full-scale investigations

Owners of the torched heavy equipment cried foul over the situation and called for investigations and compensation

They stormed the Dakpema palace in Tamale where they served notice of a protest against the government if the issue was not thoroughly investigated and the affected people compensated.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post N/R: Minority visits owners of burnt tipper trucks [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu disclosed their intended action at a meeting with the Tamale Tipper Truck Owners Union in Tamale.

[contextly_sidebar id=”xu7fUJWdCs4WI0YcXSiOthZ4eaXprgQm”]According to him, the visit was to commiserate with the affected truck owners and to afford the delegation the opportunity to assess the level of damage caused.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu maintained that burning of the said tipper trucks was unlawful, for which reason his side in Parliament will seek legal redress.

“The wicked burning of those 14 tipper trucks is excessive and extrajudicial and therefore legally unjustifiable and untenable and we will pursue this matter to its utmost and logical conclusion. Nothing will stop us from asking for adequate compensation for the affected persons as due process was not respected and upheld,” he said.

“Rights have been disrespected and rights have been breached. The right to own property and the right to own a tipper truck for the purpose of livelihood has been undermined.”

He advised the law enforcement agencies to respect the rule of law saying, “The security agencies and the Ministries of Interior and Defence are not above the laws of Ghana. We are not a Banana Republic and therefore we are serving them notice that we are a lawful country governed by law.”

He noted with deep concern that the burning of the tipper trucks will affect the construction industry.

Haruna Iddrisu nonetheless advised the affected truck owners to remain law-abiding and not retaliate.

Secretary to the Tamale Tipper Truck Owners Union, Iddrisu Yahaya reiterated their call for a full-scale inquiry and also compensation.

Later at a courtesy call on the Kumbungu chief, Naa Iddrisu Abu said the action of Operation Vanguard was an affront to his authority.

He supported calls for investigations and compensation of the affected owners.

The delegation also paid a courtesy call on the chief of Dalung where the White Volta is located.

The Tamale Central MP, Inusah Fuseini; MP for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak; Tamale North MP, Alhassan Suhuyini and MP for Binduri, Robert Baba Kuganab-Lem were the members of the Minority that made the trip.

The delegation’s visit today was a follow up to the minority legislators’ earlier call for full-scale investigations into the issue.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Minority to sue over burning of tipper trucks appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A contingent of military personnel set fire to 14 tipper trucks and an excavator used for sand winning in the Dalun River, a tributary of the White Volta in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region.

[contextly_sidebar id=”KZvg9cQNUiSjNsWS17Nd02AOLNtK6w2I”]According to Mr. Saeed, the soldiers were members of what is primarily known as an anti-illegal mining taskforce, Operation Vanguard.

“What I know from the intelligence sources is that the action was being taken by Operation Vanguard and Operation Vanguard is a national decision and if they (Minority MPs) want details with regards to what really informed the decision and the action, they should contact the Defence Minister, who is the key lead person,” he said on Eyewitness News.

He explained further that Operation Vanguard’s operations were not within the remit of the Northern Region REGSEC.

This notwithstanding, he said the REGSEC was “working around the issues and we are still analysing the situation and we will take measures that will sort of fix the issues.”

Following the incident over the weekend, National Democratic Congress MPs from the Northern Region said they wanted the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, summoned before Parliament to explain why some military personnel allegedly set ablaze the heavy duty equipment.

The Minority MPs are of the view that, the military personnel abused the law by burning down the equipment, instead of seizing them through a court order.

Security threat

Attempting to explain why the soldiers would have gone to such lengths, Mr. Saeed said the soldiers had now classified the sand winners as a security threat because of the possibility of a major water shortage.

Sand winning is a major problem in the area as evidenced by the threat to the water pumping station at Dalun which risks being shut down.

Mr. Saeed recounted that the REGSEC had given the sand winners several warnings to leave the place as far back as December 2017 but to no avail.

“I warned them, I gave them an ultimatum in December [2017] that they should move out of the site. We used a diplomatic approach because we wanted them to abide by the law and also consider the situation,” the Minister stated.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Committee is tasked by the house to track promises and assurances made by government officials on the floor of Parliament.

According to its Chairman, Yaw Frimpong Addo, the Committee will focus primarily on government’s flagship programs this year.

He said programs such as Planting for Food and Jobs as well as the Free SHS program will be critically assessed.

The Manso Adubia legislator told Citi News that “we are paying verification visits to some selected regions. We are going to select some ministries and deal with flagship projects and programs. This year we are going to pursue agriculture especially because of planting for food and jobs. [Also] Free SHs, Mines and Energy issues because of galamsey issues,” he said.

The chairman of the committee said the focus on mines was mainly due to the discovery of huge government expenditure on the anti-galamsey task force, Operation Vanguard.

“There is a huge cost of the Operation Vanguard on the state as discovered in the budget and we need to pursue it,” he said.

The committee is expected to report to Parliament on the extent to which the promises have been carried out.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Parliament’s Assurances c’ttee to track gov’t promises appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, over a thousand illegal miners have been arrested since the task-force started its work, but less than hundred of them have so far been convicted.

[contextly_sidebar id=”StDrCtXfdHQF26n2EK5Jo3IEO8DUPj4z”]He believes that their efforts are being undermined by the fact that many of the suspects have been released on bail and have returned to galamsey sites.

“We have been able to arrest 1009 people as at Monday January 29, 2018. Out of these 1009 people who are at various stages of prosecution, we have 95 of them convicted. Most of them are out on bail, while others have had their cases adjourned. It’s quite slow and it’s quite a challenge to us because we think that the faster they are prosecuted and results are made public, it will serve as a disincentive for prospective illegal miners and even those who are already in the field,” he said.

“Only God knows what those on bail are doing now. If we are not careful we enter a vicious cycle where people are granted bail and they go back to the bush to look for more money so that if they are fined they can pay.”

He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the sentences handed to the illegal miners who have been convicted.

According to him, most of them were fined by the courts, a punishment he said was not “heavy” enough to deter other illegal miners from engaging in the act.

“We get worried over the level of sanctions that are applied to those who are convicted. The fines and other things are not heavy enough to serve as a deterrent that we all want. If the person has the ability to pay, he’ll do that and you’ll find him in a different area. We think that a lot more should be done,” he added.

‘Sanctions too weak’

His comments are similar to those made by the former head of the task-force Colonel William Agyapong, who expressed worry about the weight of punishment meted out to illegal miners.

“Government has done a lot but we will need more.  The kind of sentences and fines that come out of the arrest are not helpful. We know that the onus is on the prosecution to prove somebody guilty, but if you know what we go through and after everything the sentencing and the fines are not so deterrent…. If you fine somebody who is involved in small-scale illegal mining and you fine him GH¢1,000 or GH¢2,000, I think that it will not be deterrent enough. He will not see why he should not go back to the land. These are worrying issues that I hope that in due course, they are tackled by the appropriate authority,” he said.

‘Huge success’

In spite of the challenges that have been reported, President Nana Akufo-Addo described the operations of the task-force as successful back in December.

Speaking at the Commissioning of a Secretariat for the Inter-Ministerial team on Illegal Mining in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said government will not relent on the war against illegal mining.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Operation Vanguard boss laments ‘slow’ prosecution of ‘galamseyers’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the President, although few challenges have been recorded, the operation has largely been worthwhile.

Operation Vanguard was launched by President Akufo-Addo in July 2017 after an intense media campaign, led by Citi FM put pressure on government to curb activities of small-scale illegal mining activities also known as galamsey as they were said to be polluting water bodies and the environment as a whole.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Mk8zYC9fT5vJZtAVKNpRXwIX42sl96zt”]Speaking at the Commissioning of a Secretariat for the Inter-Ministerial team on Illegal Mining in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said government will not relent on its war against illegal mining.

“Launching of operation vanguard on 21^st July 2017, a force comprising officers and men form the military police service tasked to prevent further pollution of water bodies and land degradation. Operation Vanguard has so far been a huge success.”

He said the country is currently entering a new era of putting efforts in place to formalize the small-scale mining sector “so as to achieve sustainable mining with sound environmental practices.”

“In the weeks and months ahead, I expect to see optimum coordination among participating ministries and the district mining committees as well as close interaction with Operation Vanguard, small-scale miners and the general public. I expect the committee to receive regular reports from mining centres so that illegal activities can be dealt with immediately,” he added.

Ignore critics and work

President Akufo-Addo had earlier urged members of Operation Vanguard to remain focused despite criticisms of their operations.

Akufo-Addo gave the advice when he visited them at their base at Akyem Afosu in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region last week.

362 illegal miners arrested by Operation Vanguard

Operation Vanguard as of September 2017 had arrested 362 suspected illegal miners including some Chinese nationals, and had seized a number of mining equipment.

The equipment included over 1,500 ‘chang fa’ and water pumping machines.

Twenty-four (24) of those arrested have been convicted by the courts with some of them sentenced to fines ranging from GH¢1,080.00 to GH¢6,000.00, while others have been jailed – doing between four and 18 months.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Operation Vanguard has been a success – Nana Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He said he was proud about their work, and encouraged them not to be disturbed by the allegations by some Ghanaians they were conniving with illegal miners.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3m39oTHnCi68h5euCSzgoYmT9S7D9N6u”]President Akufo-Addo made the statement when he visited the members of the task-force, Operation Vanguard at their base at Akyem Afosu in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region.

“I came here to say thank you very much and in thanking you, tell you that all kinds of people are going to be saying all kinds of things about the work you are doing. Please do not let any of that demoralize you. They should not get to you. Do your work which is most important to the future of the country. It is about our country and its future,” he said.

“This operation is one of the most important operations you’ll undertake in your life because it is about the future of our country. If you don’t come in to help us and allow this illegal mining to spread, You’ll not have a Ghana to give to your children,” he added.

The anti-galamsey task-force was deployed to three regions; Ashanti, Western and Eastern about five months ago, to help fight and sustain and campaign against illegal mining.

Their operations have resulted in the arrest of at least 600 illegal miners including foreign nationals, particularly Chinese.

The deployment of the joint police and military task-force came as a major boost to government’s fight against illegal mining in the country, following news of its devastating effects on the country’s land and water resources.

The government placed a six-month ban on all forms of mining until further notice, but later extended the ban to January 2018, because the needed result has not been achieved.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ignore critics and work – Nana Addo to Operation Vanguard appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the work done by government so far to clamp down on the illegality, is far from being described as successful.

[contextly_sidebar id=”iLGqV2exJgkHIFBVAypuWjBaH0JdbI53″]“Over a high point of 10, I will give about 5.5. In this galamsey fight, we have not arrested the people who are creating the networks, who are allowing the foreigners to do this. You cannot just come in without complicity and collusion from very important Ghanaians.”

“My suggestion is that, lets get the corruption underpinning galamsey right. Arrest those people, try them so that when we launch the mega nationwide corruption campaign, at least we know the political economy, the nationalities, the networks, the way the monies are hidden. So there is a long way to go before we can say the fight against galamsey is a success, we are far from it. We haven’t scratched the surface yet,” he said in an interview with Richard Sky on Eyewitness News.

He further said he was surprised the Commander of the government’s anti-galamsey taskforce, Operation Vanguard, seemed shocked over the discovery of sophisticated firearms being used by the illegal miners.

Col. Agyapong in an earlier interview with Citi News said, “One striking thing is the number of arms, weapons we came across. We came across as many of 58 different types of weapons. Pistols, single and double barrels, pump action guns both locally made and foreign ones. As a military personnel, it is worry that plying a simple trade like mining will have people come on board with weapons. It is a very worrying situation that we need to look at it because we don’t know the number of weapons that are still in the hands of people”.

But according to Kwesi Anning, that should have been anticipated.

“If they are surprised they found these guns in civilian hands, what were their threat perception analysis before they went out into the bush. That is very disturbing, not so much that the guns are in the hands of civilians, because that is known, but that head of such a sensitive operation did not know that these guns were in civilian hands,” Kwesi Anning said.

“We ought to have had a certain level of intelligence. So if we didn’t know that these things are out there, I am truly flabbergasted….,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Operation Vanguard is calling for more support from government to enable it to become more efficient in its operation. It said getting more vehicles will enhance its work.

The deployment of the joint police and military task-force came as a major boost to government’s fight against illegal mining in the country, following news of its devastating effects on the country’s land and water resources.

Government placed a six-month ban on all forms of mining until further notice, but later extended the ban to January 2018, because the needed result has not been achieved.

Punishment for ‘galamseyers’ too weak – Operation Vanguard commander

Colonel William Agyapong, the outgoing Commander of Operation Vanguard, also expressed worry about the weight of punishment meted out to illegal miners after they have been arrested by the anti-galamsey task-force.

According to him, the sentences given by the judiciary to the suspects were not deterrent enough, and was a major disincentive to the fight against illegal mining in the country.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Galamsey fight far from being successful – Kwesi Anning appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He said the anti-galamsey team retrieved 58 different firearms indicating that the illegal miners had become sophisticated.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8B6qfRomT2h9mbNbpbe73ZwaZTV0ayaM”]In an interview with Citi News, Col. Agyapong said, the situation is worrying, and there was the need for stakeholders to find a way to address it before it gets out of hands.

“One striking thing is the number of arms, weapons we came across. We came across as many of 58 different types of weapons. Pistols, single and double barrels, pump action guns both locally made and foreign ones. As a military personnel, it is worry that plying a simple trade like mining will have people come on board with weapons. It is a very worrying situation that we need to look at it because we don’t know the number of weapons that are still in the hands of people,” he said.

Punishment for ‘galamseyers’ too weak – Operation Vanguard commander

Col. Agyapong further expressed worry about the weight of punishment meted out to illegal miners after they have been arrested by the anti-galamsey task-force.

According to him, the sentences given by the judiciary to the suspects were not deterrent enough, and was a major disincentive to the fight against illegal mining in the country.

“Government has done a lot but we will need more. The kind of sentences and fines that come out of the arrest are not helpful. We know that the onus is on the prosecution to prove somebody guilty, but if you know what we go through and after everything the sentencing and the fines are not so deterrent…. If you fine somebody who is involved in small-scale illegal mining and you fine him GH¢1,000 or GH¢2,000, I think that it will not be deterrent enough. He will not see why he should not go back to the land. These are worrying issues that I hope that in due course, they are tackled by the appropriate authority,” he said.

The deployment of the joint police and military task-force came as a major boost to government’s fight against illegal mining in the country, following news of its devastating effects on the country’s land and water resources.

Government placed a six-month ban on all forms of mining until further notice, but later extended the ban to January 2018, because the needed result has not been achieved.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Use of weapons by ‘galamseyers’ troubling – Operation Vanguard Commander appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.