The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources says it is deploying scores of river guards to illegal mining sites to save water bodies from further devastation.
George Mireku Duker, a Deputy sector Minister, said this in Kumasi where he inaugurated an Anti-Galamsey Taskforce by the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners.
He explained that the river guards’ operations are intended to augment the responsibility of ‘Operation Halt’ which has, so far, set ablaze a considerable number of excavators at some illegal mining sites in parts of the country.
“The government is going to be tougher on the activities of illegal miners than it was because we need to protect all the polluted water bodies from further destruction. So, the river guards will patrol our water bodies at all the mining sites to protect them,” Mr Duker said.
To further sanitise the sector, he revealed the Ministry would integrate licensed small scale miners to rid the sector of the irresponsible activities of these miners.
By: Umar Sheriff Musah