{"id":823,"date":"2021-06-30T18:27:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T18:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parliamentnews360.com\/?p=823"},"modified":"2021-07-02T14:56:07","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T14:56:07","slug":"land-minister-justifies-burning-of-excavators-on-illegal-mining-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parliamentnews360.com\/index.php\/land-minister-justifies-burning-of-excavators-on-illegal-mining-sites\/","title":{"rendered":"Land Minister Justifies Burning of Excavators on Illegal Mining Sites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has provided legal and policy justification for Government\u2019s policy to burn excavators used on illegal mining sites in the country<\/strong><\/strong> despite public uproar.<\/strong>
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The Military taskforce code named \u201cOperation Halt\u201d 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.
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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.
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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).
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According to the Minister, there is ample legal and policy justification for the act for Government\u2019s 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.
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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.
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\u201cMr. 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,\u201d he said.
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When a question was raised about Government\u2019s 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 \u201cample justification for the decommissioning or demobilization of excavators illegally used to destroy our environment.\u201d
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He said, \u201cthe 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.\u201d
The Minister further justified that the Government\u2019s policy decision has brought a remarkable improvement in the fight against illegal mining in the country.
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\u201cWithin 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\u2019s fight against galamsey, since the 1980s,\u201d he said. Watch video of press conference here. (https:\/\/fb.watch\/6uUA0jXKiW\/<\/a>)
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Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite public uproar about Government\u2019s policy to burn excavators used on illegal mining sites in the country, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has provided legal and policy justification for Government\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[404,408,405,407,406,99,403,324],"class_list":{"0":"post-823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-news","8":"tag-burning-of-excavators","9":"tag-galamsey","10":"tag-illegal-mining-sites","11":"tag-legal-justification-for-burning-excavators","12":"tag-minister-for-lands-and-natural-resources","13":"tag-north-tongu","14":"tag-samuel-abu-jinapor","15":"tag-samuel-okudzeto-ablakwa"},"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n