Operation Halt, one of the many anti-galamsey task force set to tackle illegal mining has intercepted the operations of some ‘galamseyers’ on the Pra River in the Central Region.
The task force destroyed equipment used by the illegal miners including 10 changfans, a pistol, and eight water-pumping machines.
Operation Halt had earlier destroyed 30 pieces of mining equipment on the Birim River in the Eastern Region during the first day of the operation.
Commander of the Operation Halt Task Force, Colonel Eric Tenadu, has disclosed that the team has also destroyed several other equipment used by illegal miners.
He says that the task force’s rapid deployment from the Eastern to the Central Region on the second day was part of a strategic effort to out-manoeuvre illegal miners and prevent them from relocating their operations.
Operation Halt is expected to embark on its current operation for a two-week period during which several water bodies including the Pra, Birim, and Ankobra Rivers, which have all had higher turbidity levels due to galamsey, would be patrolled.
“I am unable to tell where we are moving next but I can assure you that we are visiting all the major water bodies in the country and so they [the illegal miners] should prepare for us.
“For this phase of the operation, our aim is to clear the waterbodies and so our concentration is on the waterbodies and not lands,” he said on Accra-based Citi FM Friday, October 11, 2024.
The task force’s recent operations come after the President’s directive to them following calls for a ban on all forms of small-scale mining which is destroying forest reserves and polluting water bodies.
The calls were followed by threats for a nationwide strike action by Organised Labour which was rescinded few hours to its commencement, with many alleging the leadership might have been greased.
Meanwhile, the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) is on a nationwide strike saying the government’s roadmap is not convincing enough until a state of emergency is declared and all forms of illegal mining halted.
‘I won’t be surprised if Organised Labour was bribed’ – Amoako Baah
