George Mireku Duker
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has taken its war against illegal mining to both the users and manufacturers of changfang, the machine used by illegal miners on water bodies.
Several of the machines have been destroyed on the Ankobra River by a military taskforce, a move which suggests an unusual robust action against illegal mining.
Manufacturers are being arrested and their gadgets confiscated as a novelty in the crusade against illegal mining in the country.
The new chapter in the anti-illegal mining war follows the recent directive banning the use of the machine on water bodies.
Anybody flouting the directive, according to Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, who announced the ban, would be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with law.
He gave the directive over the weekend when he inaugurated a 40-member Ghana National Small-Scale Miners Association taskforce in Kumasi.
Government, he went on, would descend upon persons or groups engaged in the production of changfang motors used on gold-bearing rivers.
The taskforce has been charged, he said, to immediately work to curb illegal mining on rivers including the Ankobra.
It has also been directed that regional taskforces be established to assist in the policing of the water bodies.
The Deputy Minister said the Minerals Commission is making available five multi-purpose speed boats to compliment the efforts of the taskforce and charged the team to avoid extortion in their work.
The National Security, Navy and the national small scale miners are engaged in a joint operation to deal with the illegal activities on the River Ankobra, and with this development the deputy minister expressed optimism about a successful outcome, adding “you know the rudiments already. Help us to clean up the small scale mining sector.”
Government, he went on, would intensify its anti-illegal mining activities to curb the menace.
On his part, the Vice President of the Ghana National Small-Scale Miners Association, Sampson Kofi Wiredu,lauded government efforts and asked members of the taskforce to justify their involvement, saying “if the country sees your good works, it will reward you.”
He was quick to request of the ministry though to expedite its support to the taskforce to deliver on its mandate.
Present at the inaugural ceremony were the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu Bio, Ag. CEO of Minerals Commission, Mr. Martin Ayisi and the President of the Ghana National Small-Scale Miners Association, Mr. Philip Akufo.
By A.R. Gomda