A Justice of the Supreme Court (SC), Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has questioned why National Security (NS) wants local illegal miners to be given tougher punishment while the powers that be, which allowed Ashia Huang off the hook, had not been penalized.

His quest for an answer follows a revelation he made that National Security approached Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah to talk to judges, not to just fine illegal miners (galamseyers) or allow them to go scot-free.

Addressing the 4^th Seminar and General Annual Meeting (AGM) of the Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana (LiSAG) in Accra yesterday, he said despite the appeal by the NS, something critical needs to be done about illegal mining temporarily to secure the environment.

He said: “For now others have called for a declaration of a state of emergency, whatever, I will think that for now, we should stop issuing licenses either for small-scale legitimate mining…it is difficult to know who is licensed miner and who is unlicensed, galamseyer.

Maybe apart from the Obuasi, Prestea, whatever recognized gold miners – the companies, the big companies. Akonta or whatever, everybody should be banned for now. So that we can have some sanity.     

“Because seriously speaking, there was a time National Security came to see the Chief Justice, whilst we were jaw-jawing and discussing as to what exactly should be done, but they came with a plea that the Chief Justice that we should talk to the judges and that the judges don’t really know what is going on. So when the police and soldiers go out and arrest galamseyers who are actually causing a lot of havoc, the judges allow them to go scot-free or fined them and allow them to go scot-free.”

It was at this instance that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie also inquired from National Security: “So I asked them what becomes of the officialdom that allowed Ashia to go away without being tried at all because she is Chinese. That is food for thought for all of us.”

His Lordship also speaks on the judiciary’s readiness to collaborate with some members of the LiSAG in the provision of justice in land disputes.

On the part of the President of LiSAG, Larbi Darko, the members were charged to make use of modern technologies for the efficient delivery of their work.

Similarly, he appealed to traditional rulers to help bring sanity to the land administration system by engaging only members of the Association, as they are recognized by the Land Commission. He believes this would reduce land dispute in the country.

The theme for AGM was: “The changing phase of cadastral surveying for effective land management.”