A Report intercepted reveals a surge in illegal mining activities on the Ankobra River all the way from the central region to the western region.
This comes weeks after the Ghana Armed Forces completed their Halt operations on the stretch.
This time the illegal miners, comprising of some Chines, Togolese, Malians and Ghanaians have taken control of parts of the river bank and diverted the flow of the water to some obscure areas in order to avoid detection and arrest.
Aerial photographs and videos captured on Friday August 13th 2021 at Wassa Akropong Prestea Hemang Hiawa, Axim and others towns shows the illegal miners are having a field day as the colour of the river has changed from its natural state to brown . The situation has also made it difficult for residents in towns and villages along the banks of the Ankobra to use the water again for their household activities due to its current state
The full return of the illegal miners has derailed all the gains made by President AkufoAddo and his government in their fight against illegal mining in a bid to restore the rivers, water bodies and the ecosystem to their natural state.
Residents along the stretch are therefore calling on President AkufoAddo and the Minister of Lands and Mines, Samuel Abu Jinapor to reassign the Ghana Armed Forces to flush the mining rebels out.
It will be recalled that, The Minister of Lands and Mines, Samuel Jinapor on the orders of President AkufoAddo assigned the Ghana Armed Forces to flush out illegal miners operating on rivers and water bodies. In this regard, over four hundred military officers were deployed to embark on the various phases of the operations which yielded great results. However the return of the illegal miners is derailing the gains made by the government of Ghana and there is an urgent call on the government to act fast to save the situation.
