The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, says government will soon roll out a sustainability programme on the deployment of soldiers to flush out illegal miners operating in the country’s water bodies.
According to him, this measure is meant to help the government deal with illegal mining issues conclusively.
200 military personnel were deployed on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, to flush out illegal miners destroying water bodies in the country.
The Ghana Armed Forces took this decision based on a directive given it by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
A statement from the Information Ministry said the operation commenced on the River Pra in the Central and Western Regions.
“In furtherance of the resolution of the final communiqué of the Stakeholder Dialogue on Small Scale Mining on April 14 to April 15, and to ensure that mining within water bodies is immediately stopped; the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has authorized the Ghana Armed Forces to commence an operation to remove all persons and logistics involved in mining from Ghana’s water bodies.”
“The operation commenced at 0600 hours on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, on the River Pra in the Central and Western Regions of Ghana. Two Hundred (200) officers of the Ghana Armed Forces are involved in the operation.”
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah in a subsequent interview said all persons mining in the forest reserves will be flushed out.
“The Ministry of Defense and the Ghana Armed Forces would roll out in detail what the sustainability plan is to ensure that this time we get a lot more results even beyond what we got for the first time. The forest reserves are no-go areas for mining. It’s not about legal or illegal. That is why the president has authorised this operation of the Ghana Armed Forces to remove all persons and logistics that are being used for mining, and they are starting on the River Pra.”
