Even though there is still room for more to be done in prosecuting illegal mining offences, the state has achieved some success in convictions and sentencing of the accused in courts, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame has said.
He was speaking at the Annual Conference of the Ghana Bar Association in Kumasi, Ashanti Region on Monday.
Mr Dame said that 76 persons, including 18 foreigners had so far been convicted from August 2021 to date.
He said the convicts who are serving various sentences in prisons nationwide, include the acclaimed Chinese galamsey queen, En Huang, also known as Aisha Huang who was convicted on December, 4, 2023 of offences committed between 2014 and 2016.
The A-G and Minister of Justice noted that most of the convicts were sentenced under the new law – Act 995 to a minimum of 15 years plus a heavy fine in the case of a Ghanaian and a minimum of 20 years plus a hefty fine for a non-Ghanaian.
He said currently, over 140 cases of illegal mining involving over 850 accused persons were being prosecuted in courts in the Western, Eastern, Ashanti, Greater-Accra and Upper East Regions of Ghana with some nearing conclusion.
Mr Dame said these convictions by army of well-disciplined, properly-trained, meticulous lawyers at the Legislative Draft Division of the office of the A-G “whose task it is to set the legislative framework for all we do.”
“Without them, none of the three arms of government can function. The Legislative Drafting Division has been responsible for carrying my vision of law reform in both civil and criminal aspects of the law. They have paid a great attention to the public policy of the law and have drafted in all about 60 Acts of Parliament and innumerable subsidiary legislation, “the A-G and Minister of Justice said.
Whilst acknowledging the efforts of the various divisions of the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice which had kept the nation safe and sound, Mr Dame added that “we cannot ignore the hitherto deplorable conditions in which state attorneys work.”
He said his visits to the head offices of various agencies under the Ministry of Justice revealed hugely undesirable working environments and the lack of basic tools for service to the nation.
In order to address this, the A-G and Minister of Justice said that in February, 2022, government provided funding for the purchase of 91 vehicles for the ministry, which represent the biggest fleet ever acquired for the ministry, and which were distributed among the various regional offices and agencies.
He said the Legal Aid Commission, which previously had only six vehicles, received 13 more, while the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) added 13 vehicles to their fleet.
Furthermore, Mr Dame said the Council for Law Reporting, which had only two vehicles, received four more. The Law Reform Commission which had only one vehicle acquired in 1996, received two, with the Copyright Office whose last vehicle was acquired in 2008, receiving two more.
Turning his attention to the future of the Office of Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, the minister said he “I dream of a modern public legal service for our nation fully equipped to discharge its onerous constitutional and statutory duties to the Republic of Ghana.”
Towards realising this dream, Mr Dame stated that he was optimistic that, soon, each of the regional capitals of the country from which the Attorney-General operates would boast of its law house.
The A-G and Minister of Justice said he had commenced discussions in this regard with the World Bank towards the possibility of a funding of this project, but definitely, adding that this can only be realised in the next term of the New Patriotic Party administration.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
