Privatization of mining cause of “galamsey” brawl – Kwesi Pratt

Veteran journalist and Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has attributed the current scuffle in the mining sector to privatization.
The senior journalist noted that in the era when was  mining was solely done by the government there was no scuffle in the sector.
This statement comes after Vehicles and mining machinery including excavators, which were seized by Operation Vanguard Task-force disappeared. This was revealed by the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation and Chairperson for the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng when he made an official complaint to the police for investigation.
Some owners of these vehicles tracked the excavators and other vehicles to Navrongo, Beposo, Tarkwa Nsuaem and Tema with the help of tracking devices they had installed on the vehicles.
Speaking to Ekourba Gyasi on Atinka AM drive, Kwesi Pratt also mentioned that Professor Frimpong Boateng Minister for Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation has done a lot for Ghana and its sad such rot has happened under his watch.
Asked if he is in support for calls for the minister to be arrested, Kwesi Pratt answered in the negative.
Meanwhile, Convener for the Media Coalition Against Illegal Mining, Mr. Ken Ashigbey, has revealed that some of the missing excavators have been sold in Côte D’Ivoire.
“It is important that we get to the very bottom because our intelligence reveals that some of these excavators have even been sold in places like Côte D’Ivoire. So it is very important we get to the bottom of it and find out if any of the miners paid bribes and retrieved their excavators….We even need to investigate the District Chief Executives who were in office as at the time these excavators were missing because they represent the President in their areas”, he said in an interview with Atinka Fm last week.
 
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu Boatemaa