Pressure Group , Occupy Ghana has called on President Akufo Addo to act, and act quickly and confiscate all lands assigned for illegal mining , popularly called Galamsey
The Group is therefore proposing an amendment to the law to specifically criminalise the making of land available for Galamsey operations, and the confiscation of all such lands to the state.
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It is another Monday and the time for another reminder that Galamsey is destroying the country and that you need to act, and act quickly and decisively. We need new and fresh thinking to stop Galamsey, and then to put in place a responsible and properly regulated artisanal mining regime. We therefore propose an amendment to the law to specifically criminalise the making of land available for Galamsey operations, and the confiscation of all such lands to the state.
The fight against Galamsey has so far focused on the operators, with little or no success. They have proven to be more mobile and agile than our security agencies. Even when arrests are made, those arrested are often the ‘small time’ field operators who are working for faceless kingpins. That is why the reported arrests and prosecutions are having little or no effect.
We propose a new thinking that will target persons who allow their lands to be used for Galamsey. Our research shows that often, it is the land owners who meet the kingpins and upon being paid or promised payment, quietly agree to look the other way or look on unconcerned as the criminality takes place. Several of these land owners quietly earn regular incomes from the Galamsey kingpins. There is little doubt that holders of all kinds of interests in private lands in the mining areas are involved in this, including holders of allodial titles, such as the stools, skins and families. We believe that we should tackle the fight against Galamsey from this angle too.
Under section 99 of the Minerals and Mining Act, persons who provide lands or allow their lands to be used for Galamsey operations could be said to be abetting the offence by ‘facilitating’ it. That abetment attracts fines and imprisonment between 15 and 25 years. However, we believe that it is time to take the fight more directly to land owners, because without the land, there would be no Galamsey. We therefore propose a further amendment of the law to include a provision that specifically criminalises making land available or allowing land to be used for Galamsey, and then confiscates that land to the state.
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P O Box AN 6668, Accra, Ghana Tel: +233 54 876 2706
Website: www.occupyghana.com Email: info.occupyghana@gmail.com
Auditor: Deloitte & Touche Banker: Zenith Bank — Achimota Branch
OCCUPYING HEARTS AND MINDS FOR GOD AND COUNTRY
The law should provide that lands on which Galamsey is operated, should be treated as ‘tainted properties,’ having been used in or in connection with the commission of the offence. The law must give the state the power to confiscate all such lands, just like any other tainted property. If an owner claims innocence, that person should bear the burden of satisfying a court that he had no notice (actual, constructive or imputed) of the crime, was not involved in it, and/or that he did all that could be done to stop the Galamsey operations, especially by filing a police report at the time the illegal operations started. If the owner is unable to prove that, the court should make an order confirming the confiscation. Then the state will be required to engage in replanting on the land and using it for other public purposes such as farming or even properly regulated artisanal mining.
Mr President, we urge you to lead the charge, not just for this amendment, but for the enforcement of the law when passed. Time is not on our side, and decisive action is required to save the nation from the danger that Galamsey portends, represents and causes to this dear nation. We remind you of the words you uttered on 10 July 2017, when you staked your presidency on ending Galamsey, adding that ‘IT WILL BE
A BETRAYAL OF THE TRUST REPOSED ON ME IF I FAIL TO END THIS.’
Yours in the Service of God and Ghana,
