Eco-Conscious Citizens, a leading environmental advocacy group, has called on Interior Minister Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka to reconsider his decision to deport foreigners involved in illegal mining (galamsey) without trial.
During an engagement with the Ashanti Regional Police Command, the Minister announced that the government would deport such individuals instead of prosecuting them, citing the need to protect the environment and save the country money. "We have resolved, as a new policy, that for two things-whether you're involved in galamsey or cutting down our trees unlawfully, or engaging in fraudulent activities, whether through computer fraud or other means-when we arrest any foreigner, we are not interested in prosecuting them.
Our first option is to take them back to their country," the minister stated. "The prosecutors within the police have officially written to the Attorney General.
We are not interested in prosecuting people who are destroying our environment or defrauding people across the globe.
