Convenor of the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, has called for the immediate arrest of all public officials involved in issuing licences or permits for illegal mining activities, describing the practice as unlawful and indefensible.

Speaking on The Pulse on JoyNews on Tuesday, February 10, Mr Ashigbey questioned how authorities could purport to legalise activities that are explicitly prohibited by law, particularly mining in water bodies using chanfang machines.

“How do you give a licence to an illegal activity?” he asked. “Chanfangs are banned. Mining in water bodies is banned. So how does an assemblyman go to an illegal site and give a licence? They are complicit in the particular crime that is being committed.”

He cited provisions under Act 995, arguing that anyone who facilitates such activities is engaging in illegality and must be held accountable.

“If you look into Act 995, that is an illegal activity. By now, we should be expecting that the DCE, the finance officer, the coordinating director, everybody involved should be arrested,” he said.

Mr Ashigbey stressed that offences related to illegal mining are not time-barred and warned against attempts to excuse past wrongdoing.

“The unfortunate thing for us is that crime has no time bar. We need to go back. Everybody who has been involved in giving out these licences irresponsibly to illegal miners should be arrested,” he stated.

He dismissed claims that earlier violations reduce the seriousness of current offences, describing such arguments as baseless.

Calling for decisive action, Mr Ashigbey urged coordinated efforts by key state institutions to clamp down on the practice.

“We are hoping that the Minister for Local Government, the Attorney General, the IGP, together with everybody involved, will round up all those engaged in this criminality. This is completely not acceptable,” he added.

He further criticised the issuance of stickers and permits to illegal miners, describing it as a direct contradiction of the law.

“The laws are made for lawful activities. You cannot make a law for an unlawful activity. You see someone mining on an illegal site, and then you give them a sticker and collect money,” he said.

Mr Ashigbey expressed particular concern over reports that permits were being issued for the use of chanfang machines on water bodies.

“The sad part is hearing people say they are issuing stickers for chanfangs. How do you give permits for people to mine in our water bodies with chanfangs when that activity is proscribed by law?” he asked.

He concluded by reiterating that firm accountability is essential if Ghana is to effectively combat illegal mining and protect its environment.