Dr. Toni Aubynn, a former CEO of the Minerals Commission, has urged the government to give an account of drone equipment it has bought to support the nationwide fight against unlawful mining.
Former Lands Minister John Peter Amewu said in 2017 that the government had spent $3 million on drones to monitor galamsey activities and eventually exterminate them.
Toni Aubynn, however, contends that even though the acquisition of the drones “was not effective” at the time, it is now the duty of the government to explain to the populace how the tools helped in the relevant conflict.
“We should account for it; the drone has done ABCD, definitely it would be flown and it will take some pictures, there’s no doubt about that but what has it done in terms of stopping illegal mining?” Dr. Aubynn quizzed.
“If I were the one to measure it [whether the drones caused a financial loss to the state], I would say that it was not useful equipment,” he made this known in an interview with Accra-based JoyNews.
The former Minerals Commission boss pointed out that government must re-think its model of purchasing certain equipment for intended purposes.
“We should actually look at why we are buying certain equipment; it shouldn’t just be buying it to show we’ve bought drones to fly all over the place. How much does it add to stopping the illegal mining?” he asked.
In recent weeks, government has been under intense pressure to clamp down on the galamsey menace which is rapidly destroying water bodies across the country and the environment.