Minority members of parliament in the Northern Region are demanding the immediate resignation of the regional minister and the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul over the destruction of 14 tipper trucks and excavator by the military.
Some military personnel in the northern region on the orders of the regional minister destroyed heavy duty vehicle and equipment as well as motorbikes belonging to some sand winners in the region.
The owners were said to have defied a week ultimatum given by the REGSEC after a report was made by the Ghana Water Company, compelling a team of military personnel to set the vehicles ablaze when they arrived at Dalung, a suburb of Kumbungu about 10:00pm on Saturday.
The activities of the sand winners at the bank of the Dalung River, according to the GWCL, have over the years increased cost of production.
But the minority caucus of the Northern Region in a statement Monday condemned what it described as “brutish and callous,” the act by the military personnel.
They explained that their demand for the resignation of the Defence Minister stems from his attempt to “justify the dastardly act of the military” while the want the regional Minister resigned because “he gave [the] orders for the perpetration of this heinous act”.
They also want District Chief Executive for Kumbungu to resign for standing “aloof while these acts of violence were committed against his own people”.
According to the caucus, the victims were winning sand at a place determined for them by the Northern Region Security Council.
“While not condoning any activity that adversely impacts the environment and compromises the ability of the Ghana Water Company to continue to deliver portable water to consumers within its catchment area, the Minority Caucus is at a loss, at the justification for adopting instant justice to deal with alleged perpetrators of illegal sand winning without recourse to the law courts” it said.
It said though the threats to our natural resources is something that must be of concern to all well-meaning Ghanaians, that obviously should not give anybody the impudence to act with impunity .
It stated the country’s constitution has a duty to protect lives and property of its citizens, indicating the protection of property is more acute and demanding in the Northern Region, considering that the region is one of the poorest regions of the country.
The statement which was signed by the MP for Tamale Central and Chairman of the caucus, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini has meanwhile called for full investigations into the operation and the circumstances leading to the assault on the persons who were in charge of the vehicles that were destroyed as well as the alleged monies confiscated.
“We further call for compensation to be paid to those who have lost property and those who suffered personal injuries as a result of this illegal, unwarranted and uncalled for operation” it demanded.
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