A leading member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sylvester Mensah, has described as lazy and reckless the burning of excavators used for illegal mining in various parts of the country.
He said the excavators can be put to better use, to develop communities and create value for the economy rather than destroy them.
In a Facebook post, the former NHIS head said the current approach smacks of ‘insufficient thinking process’.
The government in a renewed fight against illegal mining across the country especially in forest reserves and on water bodies has deployed hundreds of soldiers to remove illegal miners from different parts of the country.
Reports received so far from the grounds show that as part of the operations of the security officers, they burn excavators and other equipment used in the illegal mining process.
But according to Sylvester Mensah, the government must rethink the approach of burning the excavators.
He said a future NDC government will not burn seized galamsey excavators.
“A future NDC government would not burn seized galamsey excavators. Clearly, it is a lazy and reckless mindset. Earthmoving equipment can be put to many other important uses, in many communities in this country,” he said.
“Considering this nauseous Bawumia economy with its self-inflicted epileptic power supply, one would have thought that this government, having dispossessed galamsey owners of their equipment, would put them to alternative uses to develop our communities and generate value for the economy… We are witnessing the manifestation of an insufficient thinking process.”
The Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul in a recent press engagement said in this new phase of the military operation, one wooden accommodation facility, ten plastic chairs, 28 excavators, 18 water pumping machines, eight (8) industry batteries, five canoes and 267 Changheng machines had been destroyed.
The rest are 21 new pumping machines, two (2) industry machines, a KIA Truck, two (2) pump action guns were also seized.
