Galamsey Getting Back On Ankobra

A few months after the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources acting on behalf of the government started an operation through the military to rid the system of illegal mining activities, some recalcitrant people have renewed their assault on water bodies that caused massive destruction to the country’s eco system.

In February, the government launched an intervention dubbed ‘Operation Halt’ to get the eco system restored, and it showed prospects of success due to the application of what some consider to be draconian measures which included the burning of mining equipment on site and through that over 2,500 mining equipment including excavators were destroyed.

However, just as the soldiers are ending their Operation Halt duties, the stubborn illegal miners have gone back trying to retard the progress made so far.

A video of what appeared to be the Ankobra getting restored hit social media showing the success of Operation Halt, but the gains made is being cancelled by the people in galamsey.

They are currently going behind the soldiers on River Ankobra in particular to start galamsey activities once again.

Just last week, aerial photographs and videos captured during a reconnaissance at Wassa Akropong, Hemang, Prestea, Hiawa, and Axim among other towns where the Ankobra stretches, showed the illegal miners back on duty.

The all-important river is getting polluted once again after it started regaining its natural beauty a few months ago due to Operation Halt.

They have sent back the chanfangs and other heavy machinery on the Ankobra.

The usual culprits like Chinese, Togolese, Malians and their local collaborators have taken control of parts of the river bank and diverted the flow of the water to some obscure areas in order to avoid detection and are busily polluting the water once again.

The National Security Ministry has reportedly become incensed by the renewed activities of the illegal miners, and has vowed to crush them once and for all.

A source told MyNewsGhana over the weekend that “Ghana is on the edge of a precipice,” adding “the country faces an uphill task of saving its water bodies and forest reserves from the havoc wreaked by illegal mining.

“The technological shift, from the use of simple tools like pans for alluvial mining to the mounting of chanfangs on river bodies, has occasioned a rate of destruction of flora and fauna which far exceeds the rate of success of past and present anti-illegal mining interventions.”

The source said that “Operation Halt, in its current form, is limited in the extent it can go to ensure a total eradication of the illegal mining menace,” adding “The operation is designed to factor in the infeasible reality of permanently deploying military personnel to guard all river bodies in the country thus, questioning the sustainability of same in the long run.

“The solution to this problem neither lies in the conduct of periodic and irregular reconnaissance in areas where operations have already taken place nor the use of a less draconian approach. The solution rather lies in regular monitoring of the mining areas coupled with the institution of other stiffer punitive measures to deter illegal miners from resuming mining on river bodies.”

The source further said that “the time is right for the implementation of other measures which include but not limited to the ban on the importation or manufacture of chanfang machines. Failure to adhere to such measures should attract severe punishment either in the form of a hefty fine or a jail term.”