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The minister-designate for railway development has refuted allegations that he seized excavators belonging to illegal miners during his tenure as Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.
According to John Peter Amewu, contrary to the allegations, he instead “called for the removal of the excavators from the mining sites”.
His comments follow questions from Asawase MP Muntaka Mubarak regarding the location of some excavators missing in 2017.
He explained that the seizure of excavators at mining sites is the responsibility of the AG department and therefore has no knowledge of the events that follow his instructions.
“What happened afterwards was the seizure which went through other processes because as a minister you cannot seize the excavators, the excavators at mining sites can only be seized with the regulatory framework directly from the AG department and that’s the process, ”he added.
When President Akufo-Addo took office in 2016, he established the Operation Vanguard task force with a mandate to crack down on illegal mining activities by arresting perpetrators across the country.
However, a number of the excavators found at the illegal mine sites that were seized by the task force were subsequently reported lacking concerns, which sparked concerns about the effectiveness of tackling the threat.
The minority and some civil society organizations have since demanded investigations into the development while calling for sanctions against those behind the disappearance of the heavy machinery.
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