The Eastern Regional National Security Coordinator, Francis Annor Dompreh, has warned that security agencies will launch sustained and uncompromising operations against illegal mining in the region.
Addressing the media on Monday, Mr. Dompreh said illegal mining has moved beyond an environmental and economic problem to a life-threatening security concern because polluted rivers and destroyed forests affect communities across the region and beyond.
“Enough is enough. In the coming weeks, the region, together with the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), is going to start serious operations – ruthless operations. When I say serious, ruthless, no mercy, no fear for anybody,” he said.
Dompreh described the scale of the problem in parts of the region, citing the case of Kyebi where the Ghana Water Company has been unable to treat river water for nearly three months because silt and mud have turned river bodies unusable for potable supply.
“How are you going to treat muddy water? There is no chemical to make it drinkable. Water forms about 70% of the systems within our body – if you can’t get water to drink people will resort to unsafe sources,” he said, urging that such risks amount to threats to life and therefore national security.
The coordinator said security operatives including soldiers are already in the region and will carry out round-the-clock operations against those who mine in riverbeds or block river flows. He warned that operations will happen day or night and pledged that the security agencies will not spare anyone found engaging in illegal mining.
“If you are on a river body or in the forest, it is in your own interest to pack out. The waters must be blue and the forest must be green,” he said.
Dompreh reiterated that licensed mining does not permit activity on river beds or the blocking of river channels, and stressed that once life is endangered the matter becomes a “maximum national security interest.”
He also called for cooperation from the public and traditional authorities to ensure that security teams are not interfered with during the enforcement campaigns.
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has been coordinating inter-agency raids an ean-up operations in mining hotspots across the country; Mr. Dompreh said NAIMOS personnel were already in the region for sustained anti -galamsey operations to keep the water bodies clean and preserve forests.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
