Government has with immediate effect dissolved “Operation Vanguard” which was dedicated to the fight against illegal gold mining menace.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, reiterated this at the “Meet the Press” at the Ministry of Information on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.
The Minister stressed that no task force has been sanctioned to go after or harass illegal miners.
He, however, pledged the government’s commitment to resolving the menace, stressing no person or mining machinery is permitted along areas that have been earmarked as “red zones” and a 100-meter boundary.
The “red zones” and 100-meter boundary are areas where no person is allowed to undertake a mining activity, Hon. Jinapor explained.
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, speaking at the event, also accentuated that any person caught mining within the 100-meter radius will be dealt with and their machines (excavators) burned down.
Over 200 police personnel deployed
Over 200 police officers have been deployed to various mining sites across the country to enforce the recently announced directives on artisanal mining as well as ward off illegal miners.
The deployment comes on the back of a similar deployment of officers from the Ghana Armed Forces.
Speaking at an event to dispatch the officers, Deputy Minister-designate for Mines and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker urged them not to allow themselves to be compromised with financial inducements as this will ruin the good intentions of government.
