About a fortnight ago, a contingent of armed military personnel set fire to the equipment used for sand winning in the Dalun River, a tributary of the White Volta.

The action was allegedly taken by the military after several warnings to sand winners to stop their illegal activity close to the river yielded no results.

Mr. Nitiwul had indicated on the floor of Parliament that action was undertaken to bring an end to the menace of sand winning.

He said the soldiers had to resort to such an action to deal with the recalcitrant illegal miners.

“Their aim was to arrest the illegal miners, illegal sand winners and prosecute them like they have been doing elsewhere, but each time the people run away and they even dug more. Even those who were legally given the license were asked to stop and they have, but in this case it was worse off because they did not even have any permit to go there.”

“They were operating illegally. They did not have the permit. The Military went there for the fifth time and decided that they were sending a very strong signal to anyone who decides that they will take the law into their own hands,” he explained on the floor of Parliament.

Mr. Muburak, in a rebuttal on Eyewitness News condemned the move, saying the Minister failed to resort to due processes in bringing sand winning activities in the area to an end.

The MP believes the move was disrespectful to the affected persons and constitutes a violation of their human rights.

“What has happened is an egregious violation of human rights of people who are working hard to fend for their families. It was a complete disrespect for the people in the area because one would think that the chiefs, who are custodians of the land will be consulted in any matter that had to do with a military operation in the area. Nothing like that happened!”

“Also, the Minister of Defence had challenged persons who were unhappy about the move to go to court, but I am wondering whether he knew that we had laws in the country before sending the military to go and destroy the 14 tipper trucks. Why did he not resort to the laws that he asked others to resort to?”

Mr. Mubarak said the affected persons will soon file a suit challenging the decision, saying “We are engaging lawyers and you know that in such a case one has to gather a water tight case.”

“We believe that this is not the way to run a country especially in the 21st century. They are taking us into the dark age where things were done arbitrarily,” the MP added.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ras Mubarak slams Nitiwul for justifying burning of tipper trucks 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.

They massed at the Tamale Chief’s (Dakpema) palace on Sunday March 4, 2018 and demanded a full-scale inquiry into the destruction of their properties.

They also threatened to demonstrate against government if the issue is not thoroughly investigated and the owners compensated.

The Dakpema Palace’s entertainment Chief, Mohammed Hafiz Dema Naa in a Citi News interview condemned the dastardly act and supported calls for full-scale investigations.

According to him, the situation could further impoverish the affected owners.

Mohammed Hafiz Dema suggested that the trucks should have been seized and the owners fined by a law court.

He emphasized that the Dakpema palace wouldn’t condone any illegality and called for diplomacy in handling such matters.

It is yet unclear who sanctioned the operation because Citi News sources within the Regional Security Council did not indicate any involvement.

National security operatives to guard White Volta River-GWCL

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) will engage national security operatives to stop sand winning activities around the banks of the Nawuni River (White Volta River) in the Kumbungu district of the Northern Region.

The Managing Director of the GWCL, Dr. Clifford Braimah disclosed his administration’s intention to the media when members of the GWCL’s Governing Board toured the Dalun water treatment plant which serves the entire Tamale Metropolitan Area and beyond.

Dr. Clifford Braimah said about 54 percent of the overall total water supply to the Northern Region could not be accounted for.

He attributed the problem to illegal connections and customers deliberate refusal to pay their bills.

“A lot of people are doing illegal connections and so we want to get them to stop. If you have a neighbour who is refusing to pay or doing illegal connection, if I’m calculating my tarriff, I see the water that he’s using as unaccounted for”, he explained.

The uncontrolled sand winning activities overtime has destroyed farmlands and the ecosystem along the river banks.

As a result, the depth of the river has drastically reduced over the years due to silts which have incapacitated its water holding ability.

The silting of the river is threatening its future capacity to supply the required volumes of water supply to over 500,000 residents of five districts in the Northern Region.

The shallowness of the river has also resulted into perennial flooding of communities along its banks which sometimes lead to loss of lives and property.

Meanwhile, upgrading of the Yendi and Damongo water projects will commence by mid-2018.

Dr. Clifford Braimah said the contracts have been signed awaiting financial clearance by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP).

The GWCL Governing Board also visited the Tono and the Vea water treatment plants that serve Navrongo and the Bolgatanga Municipalities in the Upper East Region.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline/Ghana

The post Tamale tipper truck owners demand probe into burning of equipment appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.