Cameron Duodu to Akufo-Addo: Leave a legacy by prosecuting illegal miners

The veteran journalist Cameron Duodu has challenged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ensure that illegal miners are prosecuted to give impetus to the fight against what is commonly known as “galamsey”.

Duodu said that once prosecution is followed through without fear or favour, it will serve as a deterrent to others and will eventually be a lasting legacy from the president.

He said President Akufo-Addo and his appointees in charge of the fight against galamsey, including non-state stakeholders, must give of their best in order for the renewed fight against illegal mining to succeed.

Speaking on Sunday Night with Nana Yaa Mensah about what will be a mark of success in the fight against galamsey in Ghana, the renowned journalist said the government must deploy a thousand military personnel or more to the field to enforce the law.

“It is not rocket science, my dear, it is just that we lack the political will. Fortunately for us, this is the president’s last term, and he can make things better for whoever succeeds him as the head of the party if he shows that he understands what crime and punishment means. And I know, being the lawyer that he is, [that] he understands,” Duodu said.

Enforce the law

He added: “If we enforce the law the way we are doing – not by sending 200 armed soldiers but a thousand, maybe two battalions – and if you give them time to do the recce, they can tell you how it will be done.

“They all swoop on the rivers. The people will scatter and run. They will lose a lot of equipment and so on. And then make sure that the public what was got, where it is, whether it has been given back to the owners and how.”

Duodu suggested that officials of the Economic and Organised Crime Unit (EOCO) and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) should also be roped in to fight galamsey effectively.

“The state has the apparatus to get the information. The information is probably locked up in somebody’s desk right now. Maybe there are dockets that have not been completed. And we all know why: it’s because there is money involved.

“So, the Minister of Interior should be ordered to get hard on the heels of the police. If the police Criminal Investigation Department cannot do it alone, they can borrow people from EOCO and BNI [now NIB] and even military intelligence to help them get the information and then pass it to the forces who can ensure that these people are not there,” he said.

Watch the full show below:

Fred Dzakpata

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