The Government of Ghana has officially declared the country’s rivers and forest reserves as security zones in a renewed effort to combat illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, which continues to devastate water bodies and natural resources.
Illegal mining has long posed a significant challenge, with successive governments struggling to implement lasting solutions.
Under pressure to address the menace, President John Dramani Mahama’s administration has introduced a series of measures aimed at curbing the practice.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Burning Issues, Engineer Frank Pedro Asare, National Coordinator for the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (COMSDEP), disclosed that a Cabinet decision led by the President has formalized the designation of rivers and forests as security zones.
He explained that military and other security personnel will now be permanently stationed along riverbanks and within forest reserves to enforce the directive. Access will only be granted to licensed large-scale miners with legitimate leases.
Engineer Asare stressed that the move was necessary because some illegal miners return to sites just days after raids are carried out by taskforces.
He reaffirmed that both his office and the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, remain fully committed to ending galamsey without compromise.
Source: Kwame Kulenu
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