There is a lack of political will in the fight against illegal mining – Dr Norman
Dr Ishmeal Norman, the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Security Disaster and Emergency Services has attributed the stagnant fight against illegal mining to the government’s cowardliness.
Explaining on TV3 on September 27 why the real sponsors of the act have not been nabbed, Dr Norman said “leadership is cowardly if not we would have addressed the issue if you look at the level of water bodies destroyed during illegal mining could soon reach the equivalent of how the Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were bombed by the US and how it impacted on their environment”.
Further delving into the issue with his security lenses, he said “we are in a critical security situation imagine if we had terrorists how will we react as some political big wigs are involved”.
He then chastised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for not being serious likewise the National Disaster Management Organization for not being serious to understand the situation at hand to contribute its quota to the fight.
On Judge Samuel Bright Acquah’s call during the trial of notorious illegal miner Aisha Huang for the courts to now, more than ever be tough on illegal mining-related offences, Dr Norman believes the call is a wonderful one which will require most of the judges to delve into issues of public health and environmental degradation to adjudicate such cases properly.
He also stated that government could not win this fight due to a lack of political will and also due to the involvement of some political kingpins on both sides of the political divide who use some of the proceeds to finance their parties making the fight a difficult one.
