Defence Minister Warns Sand Winners

The Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul has justified the recent action of the Military against some illegal sand winners in the Nawuni River in the Kumbungu constituency of the Northern region.

He has accordingly sent a strong warning to the offenders that government will not look on unconcerned but would move to save the country’s water bodies from further pollution.

According to the Minister who is MP for Bimbilla, the Ghana Water Company Limited had cautioned that if no action was taken to stop the pollution of the water bodies, it would shut down its treatment plants because it spends six times more to treat the water because of its high turbidity level due to pollution.

“Mr.  speaker, can you imagine what would have happened to the people of Tamale and the surrounding areas when the Ghana Water Company had stopped producing water to the Tamale Metropolis and the surrounding areas for three days” he noted.

The action by the Operation Vanguard wing of the Military to burn the trucks, he said, was necessary after several attempts to arrest the illegal san winners proved futile.

“Mr. Speaker, the action of the military which is not the first of its kind was to send a strong signal to the miners along River Nawuni after several warnings to the miners to stop polluting the river,” the Minister said.

The Defence Minister’s utterances was prompted by a statement by Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak the floor of Parliament demanding a probe into the burning of 14 tipper trucks, an excavator and dozens of motor bikes at Afia Yile by military personnel on March 3, 2018.

The MP also called on parliament to ensure that compensation is given to the affected people.

The military contingent from the Operation Vanguard team burnt down the trucks and other equipment in the Dalun Electoral area in a bid to prevent sand winners from polluting the Nawuni River which is a source of drinking water to the Tamale metropolis and its adjourning communities.

But Ras Mubarak, in his statement, stated that the military were excessive in their approach in dealing with an illegality by perpetuating an illegality which contravenes the laws of the land.

“The burning down of fourteen tipper trucks, an excavator and motorbikes is an egregious violation of the fundamental human rights of the tipper truck operators…

“Clearly Mr. Speaker, the laws of the land do not prescribe the burning down of trucks and other equipment, and the military, which I hold in high esteem, acted arbitrarily and that must not be accepted in this current dispensation.

“State actors, especially the military, cannot and must not be seen to be sidestepping the laws of the land. It sends a bad signal that we are still stuck in the stone age,” Ras Mubarak stressed.

By: Christian Kpesese/ thePublisher