Beat up any 'unauthorized' soldier, police who will stop you from mining – NPP PC to small scale miners

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Amenfi East, Ernest Frimpong has been captured in a video calling for assault on soldiers and other security officials who will attempt to hinder the activities of small scale miners.

In the video sighted by GhanaWeb, the candidate is seen making the statement while addressing a group of small scale miners in the area.

“Operation halt, galamstop, whatever, whatever, soldiers that ambush you, we have cancelled all those operations and officially they do not have permission to run such operations again.

"So, if anyone comes to your site, you have the right to question him on his mission there,” he told the miners in the Twi language.

“If he says he is on patrol, then that is good because the patrol by the police and the security services protects you and reduces the incidents of robbery. So if from your own will you part ways with 3 million, 5 million or 10 million for him to use for fuel, you are just helping him and I won’t speak against it.”, he added.

“But if anyone comes around and says because he is a soldier, leave the site and dismantle your machines, don’t be moved by the uniform he is wearing, if he beats you, equally beat him. Fight him, I will come to your defense,” he charged the miners to a rousing applause.

It is not known when exactly the said video was taken.

However, the candidate, who was talking in the presence of the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah and some party executives in the region, defended his call by reiterating that no official operation has been sanctioned for soldiers to stop illegal mining activities.

“As I said, the authority with which he could use to arrest you has been seized, hence, if you are doing illegal [mining] and he wants to arrest you, he is also engaging in an illegality, so you should also arrest him,” he added.

Ghana has been grappling with the effects of rampant illegal mining in recent years.

The activity of illegal small scale mining also known as galamsey, has led to the destruction of several water bodies and forest cover.

Meanwhile, catch up on the latest edition of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV as Etsey Atisu sat down with the MP for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, to discuss issues surrounding the E-Levy, the Saglemi Housing Controversy, and the OSP Impeachment:





Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.