Registering his displeasure with remarks by the Deputy Minister of Mines, Lands and Natural Resources, Hon Effah Baafi, that the taskforce team only acted in compliance with President Mahama’s directive to seize equipment used by the illegal miners, and that no member of the team undertook any action in contravention of that fiat, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the company, Edward Kwasi Akuoku promised to produce visual evidence to back his claims.
Rebutting to the deputy minister’s assertions in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM, he accuse the Ministry and government of peddling falsehoods and shielding the misconduct of the taskforce team.
Hon. Yaw Effah Baafi, had earlier denounced on “Kokrokoo”, the station’s flagship programme accusations that the taskforce team have digressed from their mandate and emphatically stated that there is no record of the taskforce team having burnt mining equipment of miners.
He stated on record that “the taskforce has not burned anything. What we did was first give the illegal miners an opportunity to remove their machines and belongings from the mining sites. We gave them a two week ultimatum before the exercise. So, what we did was to seize the equipment of those we met on site. That’s exactly what we did but whether the taskforce burnt their valuables; it’s not true…I confirm that it’s untrue that the taskforce physically abuse them. My investigations prove that the allegations leveled against the taskforce are all false.”
“If there is any evidence that indeed somebody saw the taskforce masterminding the acts, I want to see it”, he demanded.
But the Spokesperson for HANSOL, in recounting the ordeal staff of the company were subjected to, disclosed that the company had in its possession 500 excavators before the presence of the taskforce at the premises of the company and its subsidiaries across the country.
But “as at now, we are only able to account for only two hundred. We cannot find the remaining 300. Whether they’ve been seized or they’ve been burned or they’ve been stolen, we cannot tell.” he exclaimed, adding that four excavators were seized and burned down in the Ashanti Region with the taskforce also destroying some pumping and welding machines, a safe and refrigerator all belonging to the company in the same fashion.
He therefore called for the expulsion of the Deputy Minister because to him, his comments have revealed that he is not abreast with facts on the ground.
“He’s not supposed to be in the Ministry because he’s not on top of issues. I think if you are a sector Minister and something is happening, and is not from just one person but it’s widespread countrywide, there’s a public outcry that their equipment has been burned…The right thing that you as a sector Minister should do is to go to the field. I would have gone to some of these mining sites to find out the truth,” Edward Kwasi Akuoku said.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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