George Mireku Duker, interacting with the media on Monday, stated that excavators of miners still operating in areas marked as ‘red zones’ will be burnt.

He insisted that the move is to halt the activities of galamsey operators who are damaging the country’s water bodies.

As such, miners who divert a river course or put an excavator on a river bed and mine to the detriment of the country’s heritage will have their excavators burnt.

The Deputy Minister emphasised that the recalcitrant miners permanently remove the control board of the excavators when the security apparatus see them on-site and attempt to arrest them.

“This makes it impossible to move the machine from the mining sites; hence there is no alternative than to burn the excavators.

“If we don’t burn the machines, the miners will come back and use them at night, put mercury in our sources of drinking water and kill people indirectly.

“So if the person intends to kill you, then you need to destroy the accoutrement that they use for that destruction,” he explained.

According to the miners, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, whom they describe as a man of high moral standards, has nothing to do with the missing excavators.

They pointed out in a statement that, the matter has become a major issue after a public announcement by the Minister that some excavators seized from some illegal small scale miners popularly called ‘galamsey’, are missing.

They added that it was the same Frimpong Boateng who reported the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, leading to the arrest of six persons in connection with the missing excavators.

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The association said since he assumed the role as the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Innovation and are convinced that, he is above reproach when it comes to issues relating to mining activities.

”We have no doubt and any reservation that the name of Frimpong Boateng is being dragged into the mud for reasons best known to political detractors who are bent on seeing to it that the hard-earned reputation of the good old professor is gone down the drain.

“We are assuring them that those who want to see the back of the Minister, will never happen. His hands are clean,” the group said the statement signed by the Secretary of the Association, Adams Musah.

The association added that Prof Frimpong Boateng will come clean from all allegations leveled against him because they know how selfless he is. 

They called on all and sundry to allow the normal course of events to flow, especially with the investigative process with issues relating to the missing excavators.