Monday, March 25, 2024

Majority Leader Fears Akosombo Dam Spillage Could Compound Food Inflation and Poverty

The Majority Leader in Ghana’s Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, is concerned about the effect of the Akosombo Dam spillage in the lower Volta area on the economy of Ghana, saying it will exacerbate the current food inflation in the country as a result of farmlands being washed away among others.
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Land Minister Justifies Burning of Excavators on Illegal Mining Sites

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has provided legal and policy justification for Government’s policy to burn excavators used on illegal mining sites in the country despite public uproar.

The Military taskforce code named “Operation Halt” commissioned by the Lands and Natural Resources Minister against the activities of illegal miners, have openly engaged in the confiscation of mining equipment found including the burning of excavators on these sites.

The Minister gave the justification on the Floor of Parliament on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in an answer to a Parliamentary question filed by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Mr. Ablakwa wanted to know from the Minister, the legal and policy justification for the burning of excavators in the ongoing fight against illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).

According to the Minister, there is ample legal and policy justification for the act for Government’s action. He cited Article 36 (9) and Article 41 (k) of the 1992 constitution as legal basis, which basically imposes a duty on Government to take appropriate measures to protect and safeguard the environment.

On the policy justification, the Minister indicated that the Government had a duty to ensure a total protection of the people in the country without compromising on the availability of essential natural resources necessary for human survival such as water and a healthy environment.

“Mr. Speaker, our nation is under serious threat. Our waterbodies are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Our nation risks becoming a net importer of water if we do not take action to stop illegal mining on our waterbodies. Our forest cover is depleting unsustainably. Our environment and ecosystem are being devastated,” he said.

When a question was raised about Government’s liability for a possible judgement debt for burning the excavators, the Minister argued that the presence of the excavators in waterbodies and forest reserves connotes the perpetration of an illegal activity which provides an “ample justification for the decommissioning or demobilization of excavators illegally used to destroy our environment.”

He said, “the totality of the legal and policy considerations supports the work being undertaken by the security services, and we are convinced that no cause of action can be founded on such illegal acts.”
The Minister further justified that the Government’s policy decision has brought a remarkable improvement in the fight against illegal mining in the country.

“Within the few months that we have implemented these measures, we have seen significant improvements, which we have never achieved in the history of our country’s fight against galamsey, since the 1980s,” he said. Watch video of press conference here. (https://fb.watch/6uUA0jXKiW/)

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com

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