{"id":46938,"date":"2025-04-09T04:25:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T04:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=46938"},"modified":"2025-04-09T04:25:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T04:25:03","slug":"letting-those-who-pose-existential-threats-walk-free-is-invitation-to-criminal-networks-dr-aning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=46938","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Letting those who pose existential threats walk free is invitation to criminal networks\u2019 \u2013 Dr Aning"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 23 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><div>\n<p>Security analyst Dr. Kwesi Aning has issued a stark warning to Ghanaian authorities, cautioning that allowing foreign nationals who pose existential threats to the state to go unpunished will only embolden transnational criminal networks and undermine national security efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Joy News\u2019 PM Express on Tuesday, April 8, he criticised what he described as the state\u2019s failure to enforce its laws, particularly in the fight against illegal mining and foreign-led criminal activity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not going to work,\u201d Dr. Aning said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd it\u2019s not going to work because\u2026 when you give a free pass to foreigners who commit existential threats to your state, and you tell them to go free without prosecution\u2026 then you are basically cutting your nose to spite your face.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He pointed directly to the failure to enforce or update critical legislation such as the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), and its amendment, Act 995 of 2009, as a sign that Ghana is not taking the threat seriously. According to Dr. Aning, without decisive legal and prosecutorial action, Ghana will remain vulnerable to exploitation.<\/p>\n<p>The security expert\u2019s remarks come at a time of renewed government attention on illegal mining\u2014popularly known as \u201cgalamsey\u201d\u2014which has ravaged Ghana\u2019s environment and water bodies, and is increasingly tied to complex foreign networks.<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"800\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RlbJ3QPNnxs?si=ZKPlpLCIxxrzSS0K\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Referencing President Mahama\u2019s recent State of the Nation Address, Dr. Aning noted that even the President had acknowledged the national security threat posed by illegal mining. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you read the President\u2019s address and the Lands Minister\u2019s follow-up speech, the urgency is clear,\u201d he stressed. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is being treated as a matter of emergency. There\u2019s a reason police commanders are being reshuffled. But what good is urgency if it isn\u2019t backed by consequence?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Dr. Aning, this isn\u2019t merely an environmental issue\u2014it is a matter of national survival. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t treat people who pose an existential threat to your country with kid gloves,\u201d he declared. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are working around the clock, 24 hours a day, yet the legal framework and political will to prosecute these crimes remain weak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His comments are the latest in a chorus of expert opinions calling for harsher penalties and proper enforcement of Ghana\u2019s laws against illegal mining and foreign encroachment. <\/p>\n<p>He warned that failing to act decisively now could make Ghana a hotspot for wider criminal activities, including illicit trade, money laundering, and terrorism financing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen criminals realise there are no consequences, they build networks. And those networks become harder and harder to dismantle,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is how transnational threats are born\u2014through local inaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Aning\u2019s appeal was not just to law enforcement, but to the entire political establishment. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe laws are there. The danger is known. What\u2019s left is the will to act. 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