Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines, George Mireku Duker has dared his cousin, Nathaniel Dekyi to go and burn any equipments he claim belongs to him.
The Deputy Minister made these remarks on an Accra-based radio station on Thursday.
In an interview monitored by Think News Online, George Mireku Duker said "Mining is not done in the room. Every miner can easily identify an individual involved in mining. It will not take Nathaniel Dekyi to tell the world. This concession has been in existence since 2016. Go there and burn the machines and any equipments you claim belongs to me"
"I am going round and burning that of others so why leave mine to function if he claims I am mining. He should go there and burn them"
He also added that the false allegations being levelled against him by Nathaniel Dekyi was due to his (Mireku Duker) refusal to help his cousin get crowned as a chief at Dompim.
The Deputy Minister who was once a Chief revealed that he abdicated his Kingship for a position of Member of Parliament (MP) in 2008.
"In the laws of Ghana, one cannot be a Chief and an MP at the same time, so I gave up on the Kingship for the MP position. There are some disputes in Dompim"
"Nathaniel Dekyi during the last elections uttered defamatory statements about me of which I let it slide but as for this one; I will not let it slide. I have asked my lawyers to prepare a writ and send it to court"
"The court is an open forum. Nathaniel Dekyi should come with his evidence and tell the court where my concession is. He will be served very soon"
"His move is a strategy to distract me from my work but I will not fall victim"
Mr. Mireku Duker also revealed that he has never been involved in any form of Mining.
"I have never mined before. By virtue of where I hail from and representing miners. About 90% of my constitutes have their lives been impacted by mining so I represent miners in Parliament"
"60% of Ghana's gold threshold is from Tarkwa and its enclaves. Tarkwa is the heart of mining in Ghana as far as gold is concerned but it is unfortunate I have never mined before"
The Deputy Minister explained that he is not the owner of Akon Community Mining as speculated.
"Akon Community Mining is the name and why should it be mine? The community mine was commissioned by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. The commissioningbrought under one umbrella high profiled personalities and interest groups"
He revealed that the Akon Community Mining is a big concession which has employed not less four thousand (4,000) people.
Mr. Duker commended Akon Community Mining saying the firm is mining responsibly.
"It is an underground mine and they are mining responsibly. I leading it does not mean it is mine. Akon Community Mining does not belong to me. Lands in Tarkwa does not belong to Dompim because it is in a different jurisdiction"
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith
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