Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communications team, Hamza Suhuyini has asserted that the alleged involvement of the Member of Parliament in the attack on the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) at Asutifi cannot be said to be a test of President Mahama’s commitment to the fight against illegal mining (Galamsey).
He argued that President Mahama’s led administration’s commitment to the fight, which is evident in the measures taken so far, is unwavering and therefore unquestionable and cannot be subjected to a single occurrence of an alleged involvement of a Member of Parliament in an attack on the operations of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).
“From day one, we have been consistent in terms of the kind of interventions we intend as a government to roll out in our bid to more or less curtail the menace in the first year and hopefully successfully bring it to a halt in our second year or so.
“And we are still committed to that. That point needs to be made. Our resolve would not be tested by the occurrences of what happened in the Asutifi North.”
Hamza Suhuyini, NDC Communications Team Member
Mr. Suhuyini recalled that certain promises were made by the National Democratic Congress on how it intends to fight illegal mining prior to assuming the reins of governance of the country.
He noted that while the infant government was in the process of rolling out its interventions as was promised, civil society organizations and the general public made calls for the issuance of a state of emergency.
However, even though the government did not issue a state of emergency as was demanded by civil society and the general public, the government has since engaged actors within civil society for a middle ground on how its plans to fight the menace can curb it, and therefore there is no need for a state of emergency.
He stated that among the measures, President Mahama issued a stern warning to his appointees that anyone caught in the act or compromising the fight against illegal mining would be dealt with.
Also, to ensure a coordinated front for the fight, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) was institutionalized and has since continued the fight against illegal mining.
The NDC communications team member further emphasized that even though the whole country is poised to see the menace of illegal mining curbed, the fight must be done within the remits of the law, noting how the president should not be the person to be called upon to take action in the situation of the alleged involvement of the member of parliament in the NAIMOS attack.
“The gentleman that we are discussing today, the member of parliament for the Asutifi North, is not an appointee of His Excellency President John Rahmani Mahama. He is a sitting member of parliament.
“And His Excellency President Mahama cannot jump the gun and proceed to issue out sanctions when there are legally established state institutions that are already conducting their investigations. And that is why I’m saying that we should be careful in saying that this is a test of the Mahama administration’s commitment.”
Hamza Suhuyini, NDC Communications Team Member
He added that the president is not in the position to act as Inspector General of Police or the head of the CID to investigate the issues at hand, emphasizing that “the call should be placed at the right quarters. And that is the CID and the Ghana Police Service.”
“We all must demand that they do a good job. And if at any point in time we see hands of the presidency or government functionaries attempting to influence the nature of the investigations, then we would be within our right to begin to question the resolve of the Mahama administration as far as the fight is concerned.”
Hamza Suhuyini, NDC Communications Team Member
He further emphasized that when all such investigations are done and the person allegedly involved is found guilty, then the state laws must deal with him within the remits of the law, emphasizing that as it stands now this incident cannot and should not be seen as a test on President Mahama and his admonition’s resolve to fight against illegal mining.
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