National Communications Director for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Lawyer Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, strongly believes anyone found to have been culpable in the missing excavator's saga will face the full rigours of the law.
Not even members of the ruling party will go scot-free, he assures.
According to him, government's commitment to the fight against corruption remains unabated, therefore acts that undermine the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, will certainly not be condoned.
Excavators With Wings?
At the peak of the fight against illegal mining between 2017 and 2018, many earth-moving machines said to be numbering about 500 were seized by the Operation Vanguard, an operational team made up of various security personnel purposely set up to clamp down on illegal mining.
The then sector Minister, John Peter Amewu who sanctioned the seizure directed them to be parked at the premises of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation and also Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), disclosed recently that most of the excavators that were seized from illegal miners had vanished.
No-one Will Be Spared!
Speaking on Okay FM's Ade Akye Abia programme, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, who is also the MP for Adentan Constituency, charged members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) not to be overly excited about the news of the missing excavators as a sign of the government's broken resolve to tame corruption.
"The NPP Government took steps to end illegal mining and that fight so far has been progressive so this issue of missing excavators will be investigated thoroughly . . .
"This is the more reason why the police have been asked to investigate the matter with some arrests on-going. This should tell you that anyone involved in this act will not be spared," he said.
6 Arrests Made
Meanwhile, the police in a statement issued on Tuesday, confirmed that suspended NPP Central Regional Vice Chairman, Horace Ekow Ewusi together with five other accomplices have been arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
"Suspect Ekow Ewusi who was contracted to take custody of the seized equipment, was arrested on Monday, February 2, 2020, at Abelemkpe in Accra together with five (5) other accomplices namely; Frederick Ewusi, Joel Asamoah, Adnan Haruna, Frank Gyan, and John Arhin," the statement said.
"Ekow Ewusi, Frederick Ewusi, and Joel Asamoah have been cautioned on the offence of Stealing while Adnan Haruna, Frank Gyan, and John Arhin have been cautioned on the offence of abetment of stealing".
They have however been granted bail whilst investigations continue.
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