Attorney General and Chief Justice your people are failing Ghana in the #StopGalamsey war
The operation Vanguard is celebrating some victories in the fight against Galamsey. Yes they seem to be winning some of the battles but we are losing some, which we need not lose. These losses are not the fault of Operation Vanguard.
The battle in the court rooms are being lost.
In my non-learned opinion these sentences that are being handed are not deterring enough. And in this this case using my Engineering mind and using basic logic applying the venn diagram approach there is an error. Read on!!
The Wassa Amanfi West District Assembly in the Western Region is the first district to benefit directly from the operations of the 400 man Joint Taskforce activities code named “Operation Vanguard”. This occurred on Friday 22 September 2017 when the Tarkwa Circuit Court, presided over by Judge E Bart-Plange, sentenced ten Chinese illegal miners to a fine of GH¢ 2,400 each or in default to serve 30 months imprisonment. In line with the provisions of the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act 900, 2015 four excavators among other equipment which were being used by the illegal miners at the time of their arrest were also confiscated to the Wassa Amanfi West District Assembly.
It will be recalled that on 19 September 2017, personnel from the Western Forward Operating Base of Operation Vanguard Joint Taskforce at Tarkwa conducted operations in Agona Amenfi and Wassa Amenfi West Districts. The Operations resulted in the arrest of ten Chinese illegal miners and the seizure of various mining machinery and equipment including four excavators. The arrested persons include; Li Jueming aged 42 years, Huang Keshen aged 33 years, Le So Song aged 40 years, Qin Ming aged 49 years, Mong Ri Gin aged 40 years, Li Shuchang aged 39 years, Huang Zhiming aged 36 years, Lu Zengyun aged 44 years, Wu Xumou aged 41 years and Qin Teng Fang aged 40 years.
The four excavators have since been handed over to the Wassa Amanfi West District Assembly. These excavators will form part of assets of the District Assembly to complement efforts when the Government commences the reclamation phase of fight to restore the environment.
The Joint Taskforce as at, Monday 09 October 2017 has conducted 147 operations across the Eastern, Western and Ashanti Regions of Ghana, arrested 419 persons including 61 Chinese, 1 Burkinabe, 1 Togolese, 1 Nigerian and 355 Ghanaians. The Taskforce has also seized 44 Excavators, 145 Water Pumps, and several other mining equipment and immobilized 1152 floating mining platforms popularly known as Chanfan machines or “toutou”
Operation Vanguard, Say No To Illegal Mining Now.
Yes we are happy that the excavators have been seized however the question, I Kenneth Ashigbey, will want to ask is that, are these sentence of GH¢ 2,400 deterring enough for galamseyers who are have the capacity of either buying or hiring 4 excavators, are destroying our environment, polluting our water bodies and raping our lands of billions of dollars.
Judge E Bart-Plange of Tarkwa Circuit Court is this the best that you can do? Who are the prosecutors who worked on this case?
Does Section 99.3 of the Act not state that ” A foreigner who undertake small scale mining operations contrary to the provisions of this Act commits an offense and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 30’000 penalty units and not more than 300,000 penalty units or to term of imprisonment of note more than 20 years or both?”
Is the penalty unit not GH¢12.oo each, if so will the minimum 30’000 penalty units not be GH¢360,000.00? If so where is the GH¢ 2,400 fine coming from. Bear in mind that it is Ghanaians who ” on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 2,000 penalty units and not more than 20,000 penalty units or to term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years and not more than 10 years or to both?
Have Li Jueming, Huang Keshen, Le So Song, Qin Ming, Mong Ri Gin, Li Shuchang, Huang Zhiming , Lu Zengyun , Wu Xumou and Qin Teng Fang become Ghanaians?
What is the prosecutor doing about this? Has this sentence gotten to the attention of the AG? What is the great AG who won us victory at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea doing?
Let me continue with my questions and ask, did the prosecution not have any immigration charges against these 10 Chinese people? Are these 10 Chinese, who I am sure have paid these fines that are below the minimum fines allowed by law to go back into the pit mining?
Let me remind us all that Operation Vanguards activities on the 9th September 2017 at Abodom in the Bekwai District of the Ashanti Region led to the re-arrest of five Chinese nationals who were arrested earlier on the 6th September 2017 and put before the Bekwai Circuit Court. The five men were granted Court bail, for engaging in Illegal mining at their residence at Abodom on the 6th September 2017. These Chinese gave their names as Huang Shang Gao aged 54, Huang Yang Gang aged 36, Lin Gang Sheng aged 48, Lu Yan Shan aged and Yan Shao Gao aged 35.
The Joint Taskforce personnel together with Police Investigators from Bekwai Divisional Police were on a visit to the scene of a previous operation as part of Investigations. The team on arrival at the Abodom residence where six Chinese were arrested previously found the five men with a new Chinese washing sand in their bedroom. So when we continue sentencing them to fines of GH¢2,400.00 they will treat them as the cost of engaging in the illegality and not only will they go back but they will invite others to join.
Will it not be better to add the Immigration Service to the Operation Vangaurd so that when we are prosecuting Galamseyers and there are foreigners involved we do a box-to-box job?
Asem de kan, who will say it for us. I will say it!!
The judicial process has become the weak link in the fight to #StopGalamsey. H.E Mr. President and Hon Peter Amewu, if you allow this to continue your political courage and you being the arrow head will be in vain. The Media Coalition Against Galamsey our coalition will be a wasted effort.
The Attorney General and Chief Justice you need to rise up and save Ghana, when they come to naming the ‘Naka Wifio’ your names will be mentioned as having ‘chopped’ the juiciest part of the great python.
We are counting on the AG to order an appeal into this trail and get these sentences looked at.
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