The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Joseph Osei Owusu has once again repeated that, illegal miners popularly known as galamseyers who mine along water bodies must be shot and killed. It would be recalled that, in March 2018, the First Deputy Speaker advocated for severe sanction regime for illegal miners who find themselves at the wrong side of the law to serve as deterrent to others, including killing them. According to him, he does not see the reason why people who deny others from their livelihoods must be treated with kid’s gloves all in the name of natural justice. He said on the floor of parliament “Mr. Speaker, extreme behavior must be met with extreme response. We are dealing with people who are determined to make their money at every cost notwithstanding the damage they do to the environment”. He cautioned members to be careful not to appear to be loyal to few people who are destroying the country’s water bodies, farms, among many others that are affecting lives of the rural folks. The Bekwai MP and Deputy Speaker who is obviously fed-up with the recalcitrant nature of the illegal miners said if he had his own way, he would have enacted a law that will empower the military to shoot such people on sight. He also noted that, “sometimes we need to be strong on wrongdoers. We are pampering wrongdoers in this country too much. The Member of Parliament for Bekwai was not spared for proposing death penalty for those culpable of destroying the various water bodies in the name of mining, as some section of the public demanded an unqualified apology from him. But speaking to Ultimate Fm in Kumasi, Mr Osei Owusu reiterated his earlier position on the punishment to be meted out to illegal miners destroying water bodies. He said, a thorough analysis of the activities of illegal miners revealed that, the search for money by some few people is carried out to the detriment of communities, thereby denying hundreds and thousands or in extreme cases millions of their livelihoods. “So as I said earlier, if I have my way, I would change the law and add that, any person who mine to destroy our water bodies is shoot and killed. That I think is the major solution to this canker”, he said. According to the MP, illegal mining should not be entertained at all in the country, preferring stiffer punishment for those who engage in such acts to serve as deterrent to others. He commended government in its effort to fight illegal mining, saying that, the effort must be sustained to save the country from the shackles of the illegal miners.