The Minority in Parliament has called for the arrest and prosecution of Environment Minister, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, over the missing excavators.
The Minority says it wasn’t enough for the Central Regional Vice Chairman of the NPP, Ekow Ewusi, to be the only one who has been arrested.
Minority Spokesperson on Mines, Adam Mutawakilu said the Minister breached the mining act when he gave the NPP vice-chair the responsibility to move the excavators when the law states clearly who should take responsibility for them.
He, therefore, wants the Minister to face the law.
“The Minerals and Mining Act (2015) Section 99 (5) is clear as to where a seized excavator or confiscated excavator should be put. It states clearly that when equipment or products are seized, they should be kept in the custody of the police.
“In this case, the law was put aside and the Minister decided to have his own law as to where the excavators should be put because of the intention was to ensure that these excavators vanish for their own selfish interests,” he told Joy News’ parliamentary correspondent, Joseph Opoku Gapko.
The Damongo MP further explained what should be done to such seized equipment.
Citing Section 99 (7) of the same law, he said confiscated equipment should, within 60 days, be distributed or allocated to public institutions and gazetted for the public to have full knowledge of where each has been taken to.
“As we speak, Prof Frimpong Boateng has not implemented it. If you breach the law and someone takes advantage of you breaching the law to also breach the law, why must you arrest that person. He [Prof Frimpong Boateng] should be arrested, for first of all, breaching the law and paving the way for others.”
Mr Mutawakilu said even if the Minister did not know the law, he had directors and technical people under him at the Ministry who should have advised him.
“Clearly the people they have arrested are not the culprits, the minister and the other NPP bigwigs are,” he added
He accused President Akufo-Addo of superintending over what he described as gargantuan illegal mining in the country.
Despite the President’s effort at stemming the menace, the MP said it was all camouflage to cover up the actual illegality by members of his party.
