One of the major issues currently attracting the attention of the public and being vigorously discussed on the various media platforms is the burning of excavators being used for illegal mining and subsequent pollution of our water bodies.
Whilst a section of the public think the seized excavators should not be burnt, but rather be given to the municipal or district assemblies under whose jurisdiction they were seized, others including The Chronicle, think otherwise.
Those opposing the suggestion argue that when similar exercises were conducted in 2018, the seized excavators found their way back into the forests. It is instructive to note that those who are persistently condemning the burning of the machines are the very people who are using these machines to destroy the environment and water bodies.
Without any shred of shame, these people are even threatening the government with street protests. The idea is to paint the government black and benefit from the situation. They are certainly not concerned about the negative implication of their actions on the larger population, but are only interested in the money they have lost or are losing, as a result of the stringent measures the government has put in place.
Though the Minister for Land and Natural Resources, Samuel Jinapor, has always maintained that government will not succumb to pressure to suspend the exercise, the man who appointed him – President Akufo-Addo – was quiet, but his silence in our view was an indication that he supports the action being undertaken by his minister. However, after listening to the arguments – both for and against – he has now decided to come out.
Addressing a gathering at a ceremony where he cut the sod for the construction of phase one of the Law Village Project of the Ghana School of Law in Accra yesterday, the president made it clear that he was not going to succumb to pressure to stop the ongoing exercise.
“I know there are some who believe that the ongoing exercise of ridding our water bodies and forest zones of harmful equipment and machinery is unlawful and, in some cases, harsh. I strongly disagree, and I would advise those who take a contrary view to go to court to vindicate their position, if they so wish. That is what the rule of law is all about,” he said.
The president’s pronouncement, in our view, sends a clear and unambiguous signal to those perpetrating the crime that he is not going to kowtow to their threat and put the exercise on hold. President Akufo-Addo is an astute lawyer and knows that the law is on his side, hence the resolve to pursuing his goal of protecting water bodies for the current and unborn generations. His bold statement is obviously going to embolden the military personnel on the ground to use the law to indeed protect our water bodies.
But whilst commending the president, we wish to also draw his attention to another important national issue – the illegal felling of trees in our forests and other places. If this concern is also not addressed immediately, a time will come when there will be no trees to provide shade for rivers and creeks we depend on for survival.
Signals we are picking indicate that the chainsaw operators who are behind this crime now operate in the night to avoid arrest by forest guards or the security agencies. The government must, therefore, come out with a strategy to combat this emerging crime in the interest of the state.
The post Editorial: Burning of excavators: President Akufo-Addo has spoken and that should end the debate appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS