The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has reiterated government’s commitment to the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as “Galamsey.”
He said despite the numerous challenges, Government would continue the fight relentlessly to bring sanity to the small scale mining industry.
The Minister was speaking at Datano in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region, where he led a team from the Ministries of Information and Lands and Natural Resources to visit the Operation Halt II team in the area.
The purpose of the visit was to encourage the military and assure them of the President and Government’s support for their operations.
Operation
Speaking to the media after the operation, Mr. Jinapor expressed his satisfaction with the work done by the military.
He explained that the military had been able to clear the site of illegal miners, demolished their infrastructure, and brought their operations to a halt.
He added that the team arrested some illegal miners and seized excavators and other mining equipment, which had been handed over to the Ghana Police Service.
The Lands Minister said the operation is one of many to come, aimed at exposing the complexities involved in the illegal mining business.
He queried how the activities of these illegal miners could elude all the security apparatus in the district, the traditional and local authorities, and mine inspectors in charge of the area.
“All of you can see the level of devastation; it should baffle all of us as citizens, policy makers and as stakeholders in this fight, how an operation like this in the heart of the Forest and in the faraway areas of our country can go on without notice by police, the chiefs, local political leadership and even the inspectorate division of the Minerals Commission here, and these are questions I as Minister intend to seek answers to,” the Minister said.
He stressed that the fight against illegal mining is a collective one that requires the cooperation of all citizens, particularly the members of the local communities.
Brigadier General Joseph Aphour, who led the team, said six excavators were ceased, while three were destroyed.
He thanked the Minister for the visit, adding that he “was optimistic that with the support of Government and the citizens, they can come to grips with the matter”.
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