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The Minister of Defense has been instructed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to send more military soldiers to support “Operation Halt,” the government’s effort to stop illicit mining, also known as galamsey, especially in regions close to water bodies and forest reserves.
Organised Labour, which had called for an immediate end to galamsey activities and threatened to go on strike if the government did not act swiftly, applied increasing pressure, leading to this decision.
The operation will be greatly strengthened, the President declared in a news release dated Wednesday, October 9, 2024, with the deployment of naval vessels on contaminated river bodies to ensure the immediate stop of all mining activities legal or illegal.
It is anticipated that the increased military presence would strengthen efforts to protect Ghana’s natural resources and stop more unlawful mining-related environmental damage.
“The operation aims to stop all mining activities, whether legal or illegal, particularly around water bodies. To strengthen the operation, the President has ordered the deployment of naval boats on polluted rivers to prevent further mining activity,” part of the statement read.
The Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2462) will no longer be enforced, as per the President’s directive to the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The announcement further stated that the Attorney General has been entrusted with collaborating with the Chief Justice to expand the number of courts that handle cases related to unlawful mining. The President established four specialized courts specifically to handle these matters.
President Akufo-Addo has asked Organised Labour to push all presidential candidates and their political parties to join a national accord in order to guarantee that the battle against illicit mining is waged against political cycles.
“This agreement would commit all political parties to prioritise the fight against galamsey as part of their election promises. The President emphasised that the fight against illegal mining must be a national effort, not a partisan one,” the statement added.
Read the full statement below:
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
