The Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has revealed that the military, in collaboration with the lands ministry, has seized nearly 30 excavators from various illegal mining sites.

Addressing the media on the issue, Mr Jinapor said, the seizure is proof of Operation Halt II’s effectiveness in Ghana’s illegal mining fight.

“As I speak with you, they have seized almost 30 excavators. It has already begun. It started about two or three days ago, and it’s going to be sustainable”

He said in this phase of the operation “the military would take full responsibility” and that this time their operation would not be time-bound.

“The soldiers are going to go on for as long as it takes. They will decide. They will make those decisions, not I, the Minister... They will have command and control responsibility in terms of when to go, how to go, where to go, and how to go about their operations; all of it will be in the hands of the military. We are responsible for policy but they will conduct operational implementation,” he said.

Topreventanykindofgovernmental interference, “command and control” on the ground has been entrusted to the hands of the military so that any government official found complicit would be dealt with according to the law without compromise.

Amongst the several policies implemented by the government to combat illegal mining activities across the country is Operation Vanguard(OV). Vanguard, a joint military-police operation to combat galamsey, was initiated in mid-2017.

However, the military was abruptly withdrawn from Vanguard in March 2020, only to be reinstalled in late April 2021. Later on, operation halt was introduced.

Operation halt

According to research by the Danish Institute for International Studies, Operation Halt was established to end the illegal exploitation of another natural resource, timber, especially in Brong-Ahafo and the Western Region.

Operation Halt I ended in December 2021, with the 10th phase of the operation being launched against the activities of illegal miners on the River Birim and its tributaries in the Eastern Region.

However, on December 21st, 2021, Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, George Mireku Duker, announced that measures were being put in place to relaunch Operation Halt.

Source: The Independent Ghana