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A Deputy Minister of Mines, Lands and Natural Resources, Yaw Effah Baafi has jumped to the defence of the Inter-ministerial Taskforce Team set up to check the illegal activities of small-scale miners, debunking assertions that the team has strayed from their set objective. Refuting accusations of high-handedness leveled against the taskforce team, the deputy minister, who was speaking on Peace FM�s flagship programme �Kokrokoo�, held strongly that in pursuit of the assignment given to them by President John Mahama, the taskforce has not flouted any directives. He was categorical that the team only seized equipment used by some illegal miners and that, there has never been any attempt to set fire to any equipment belonging to the culprits. ��the taskforce team has a list of these illegal miners and sometimes their locations�it will therefore be inconceivable for the taskforce to assault a licensed small-scale miner,� Hon Effah Baafi said. The Deputy Minister also denied reports that the Inter-ministerial taskforce team set fire to mining equipment belonging to HANSOL Mining Company for the extraction of minerals and dared any one with evidence that the team subjected small-scale miners to physical abuse to produce it before the Ministry. �The taskforce has not set any equipment ablaze. What we did was first give the illegal miners an opportunity to remove their machines and belongings from the mining sites. We gave them a two week ultimatum before the exercise. So, what we did was to seize the equipment of those we met on site. That�s exactly what we did but whether the taskforce burnt their valuables; it�s not true�I confirm that it�s untrue that the taskforce physically abuse them. My investigations prove that the allegations leveled against the taskforce are all false.� �If there is any evidence that indeed somebody saw the taskforce team involved in these acts, they should bring it before me,� he said whiles calling on any victim to assist the Ministry commence investigations into their allegations.