The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has appealed to the judiciary to support efforts at stopping illegal mining in the Eastern Region. He noted with concern that, any time excavators being used by illegal miners in Kyebi were impounded by the security agencies, the equipments were often released to their owners on the orders of the court. Osagyefuo Amoatia was speaking at Kyebi when he organized a durbar to honour Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the former Eastern Regional Minister, for his appointment as the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. He called on the law enforcement agencies to arrest not only those engaged in illegal mining, but for them to disclose the identities of individuals and chiefs who authorised them to mine on the lands. Osagyefuo Amoatia warned that anybody who brings an excavator to the Akyem area for illegal mining would have his or her machine destroyed. He called for reforms in the Local Government system in the country to make the Metropolitan, Municipal and District, Chief Executives more responsible to the people in their area. In this regard, he suggested that, after any national election, the ruling party should nominate three candidates and give the electorate in the District the opportunity to elect one of them as their District Chief Executive. On behalf of the chiefs and people of Akyem Abuakwa, Osagyefuo Amoatia donated a kente cloth to the former Regional Minister. Earlier, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo briefed the Okyenhene about the various developmental projects that had taken place within the Akyem Abuakwa traditional area within the last two years. He called on the chiefs in the area to support government’s efforts at promoting the development of small scale mining industry in the country. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo regretted that it would be very difficult for any chief whose area had been illegally mined to show any tangible project as the benefit accrued from such activities. He said in many of the areas which had been illegally mined, the miners had left behind deep wells and trenches which are now death threats to the communities. He concluded that all that he did as the Regional Minister in fighting against illegal mining were in the interest of mother Ghana. Source: GNA