MinCom Calls On Media to Collaboratively Work With Stakeholders To Clamp Down Illegal Mining

The Minerals Commission has called on the media to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to clamp down on illegal mining in the country.

According to the Commission, the media’s role in providing education and information about the menace was critical in fighting the menace which was destroying our forest reserve and water bodies.

A statement issued by the Commission in Accra yesterday noted that such collaborative efforts had led to the stopping of illegal mining in the Tano River, making the river water clean.

It said the District Officer of the Bibiani Office of the Commission had worked with all the stakeholders and had ensured that that the river along the bridge was clean.

The statement was in response to media publication that the Tano River along the stretch on the bridge had been polluted due to activities of illegal mining.

“The Commission wishes to inform the public that on September 17, the District Officer of the Bibiani Office of the Commission visited the area and duly confirmed that the river along the bridge is clean as per the video attached,” it added.

The statement said the measures taken by government to deal with illegal mining was being implemented with some positive outcomes being recorded.

“These measures include the purchase of speed boats for the permanent patrol of the waterbodies by the Ghana Navy, the training of river guards to complement the efforts of the Ghana Navy, tracking of earth moving
machines and decommissioning of excavators and other structures mounted in the waterbodies,” it stated.

The Commission, per the statement, reiterated that the fight against illegal mining should be a concerted effort by all Ghanaians.

It commended the District Officer at Bibiani for his collaborative efforts with the Ghana Police Service that resulted in the arrest of the Chief and his brother as persons behind the illegal mining at Sefwi Elubo in the Western North region.