GALAMSEY: "We cannot win this fight if we begin to pick and choose" - Samuel A. Jinapor

Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor says Ghana can not win the fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey if it begins to pick and choose offenders who are supposed to be punished.

The Minister made these remarks while addressing Journalists in Accra on Tuesday.

Mr. Abu Jinapor said "We cannot win this fight if we begin to pick and choose. Whether this person is a Minister, the person can be involved in illegalities should not be allowed to go scot-free, that will not work.

The Minister stressed that the laws of Ghana must be blind to those kinds of considerations and it should be so for all other crimes.

"If we have evidence that anybody is involved in illegal mining not just high-profiled officials of government, whether it is chiefs, police, forestry commission officials, media people or ordinary citizens or Minister Jinapor, the full force of the law must be brought to bear on the people"

"So the most important thing is evidence and I believe that the security agencies are very wild-awake and picking intelligence"

He revealed that some persons have already been sanctioned because of their conducts.

"If we have the evidence and the basis, let us proceed against the people"

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith