Burning of trucks: Government excluded TMA excavator – Ras Mubarak

The NDC Member of Parliament for Kumbungu in the Northern region, Ras Mubarak has disclosed there was a conspiracy by government officials to destroy properties in his enclave in the case involving the burning of 14 tipper trucks and an excavator by the military.

It has emerged that the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly(TMA) in the Northern region had its excavator sitting on the site where the 14 other tipper trucks were torched by the military, however three days before the incident, local authorities managed to move the equipment from the enclave, the Kumbungu lawmaker told Kasapa 102.5 FM.

He questioned: “did the Regional Minister have wind of it [operations]? So even if the site where the sand winning activities were going on was questionable, why would the assembly have its excavator working at the same place?

His comments come against the backdrop of the minority caucus calls for the affected truck owners to seek legal remedy for them to be compensated in the destruction of their properties.

The minority led by Haruna Iddrisu in a meeting with the Tamale Tipper Truck Owners Union in Tamale last week said: “The wicked burning of those 14 tipper trucks is excessive and extrajudicial and therefore legally unjustifiable and untenable and we will pursue this matter to its utmost and logical conclusion. Nothing will stop us from asking for adequate compensation for the affected persons as due process was not respected and upheld.

“Rights have been disrespected and rights have been breached. The right to own property and the right to own a tipper truck for the purpose of livelihood has been undermined.”

Background

Armed infantries of the Sixth Battalion deployed from their military base in Kamina Barracks in Tamale, Saturday, March 3, carried out a combative operation to intensify a crackdown on illegal sand winning activities in the area.

According to reports, dozens of heavy sand mining machines including about fourteen (14) tipper trucks and an excavator were burnt by the soldiers who stormed the area by trucks.

The illegal miners fled the area before the armed forces arrived, thus no arrest was made.

Some residents and miners who saw the soldiers advancing towards the mining site said they counted about three military trucks loaded with heavily armed soldiers.

One of the trucks was carrying a canoe, a panicked resident of Dalun, a village along the path to the river told Kasapa News.

The unregulated operation by the miners have polluted the water source, caused deep environmental damages, pushed farmers away from farmlands and forced fishmongers to hang their nets.

Despite several efforts by the Regional Security Council, the activity persisted until management of the Ghana Water Company engaged national security personnel to combat the activity.