Govt Bans Individuals, Organised Groups From Undertaking Galamsey Clampdowns

The government of Ghana has banned individuals and organized groups from engaging in any form of clampdown on illegal mining activities across the country.

This activity, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources said, is the sole preserve of the newly established National Anti-illegal Mining Operations Secretarial (NAIMOS).

Individuals or groups who seek to undertake any form of anti-galamsey operation are to seek the express approval of the Secretariat.

“The Ministry wishes to emphatically state that no person, individual, or organised group is allowed to embark on any anti-illegal mining operation without consulting the duly established Secretariat, which has been formally tasked for that purpose.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, all anti-galamsey operations, swoops, and raids conducted without the express approval and authorization of the Secretariat are strongly discouraged, and we urge all concerned Ghanaians to take note of this arrangement and comply accordingly.”

The mandate of the Secretariat is to initiate, coordinate, and supervise all anti-illegal mining operations across the country.

According to the Ministry, the NAIMOS is the result of collaboration among stakeholders across the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior, the National Security Council, and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to help combat the serious environmental threat of illegal mining.

“The objective of NAIMOS is to create a well-coordinated framework to address the crackdown on Illegal mining and its related harms.”

The Ministry further reiterated its commitment to dealing decisively with the threat of Illegal mining through the range of interventions that are currently in place to clean up the environment, combat climate change, reclaim depleted lands, and restore all polluted water bodies to their pristine condition.

Source: https://opemsuo.com/author/hajara-fuseini/