Minerals Commission halts sale of seized mining equipment

The Minerals Commission has said it will deal with any district or municipal assembly found to have sold or attempting to sell mining equipment confiscated by the inter-ministerial task force against illegal mining.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Commission, Ben Aryee, says no decision has been taken for the seized mining equipment to be sold hence assemblies will be in violation of the law, if they are found to have engaged in that practice.

He told Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the task force is currently mobilising funds to restore and reclaim land destroyed by the illegal miners.

President John Mahama formed an inter-ministerial task force in May to clamp down and flush out illegal small-scale miners by confiscating their assets.

The five-member task force works in coordination with the military and the police to arrest and prosecute Ghanaians and foreigners engaged in illegal mining.

The Task Force is chaired by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, with the Minister for the Interior, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, the Minister of Defence, Mr Mark Woyongo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Hannah Tetteh, and the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, as members.