President John Dramani Mahama has directed that soldiers remain stationed in forest reserves cleared of illegal mining, to stop operators from returning once the troops are withdrawn.
He said past experience had shown that illegal miners went back to the reserves soon after military personnel deployed to flush them out left. All nine forest reserves previously designated as red zones — classified as such because of extensive destruction and the presence of heavily armed illegal miners — have now been cleared, with troops posted there to hold the ground.
“We have now cleared all nine of those red zones. There are no galamsey operators in those forest reserves, and we have stationed soldiers there to ensure that the illegal miners do not return. The soldiers will remain in those areas,” the President said.
Advertisement
He made the remarks when chiefs from the Western North Region called on him, using the occasion to call for closer cooperation with traditional authorities in sustaining the fight against illegal mining.
Reflecting on earlier operations, President Mahama said attempts to reclaim some reserves had collapsed because illegal miners came back shortly after the military pulled out and forest guards took over protection duties. The consequences had been deadly.
“Whenever forest guards went there, they were fired upon, and some lost their lives,” he said, underscoring the hazards facing personnel assigned to guard the reserves.
The President appealed to the chiefs to back the government’s efforts, particularly in communities where young people and some traditional rulers had resisted operations by the National Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Illegal Mining (NAIMOS). He argued that traditional authorities were indispensable partners because they live among the people and understand the local dynamics that keep illegal mining alive.
Advertisement
President Mahama also voiced concern about incidents in which soldiers opened fire during enforcement operations, killing people. He said deeper community engagement and collaboration with traditional leaders were necessary to prevent further loss of life while safeguarding forest reserves and water bodies.
On restoring degraded land, he said Goldbod had begun working with the military on a programme to reclaim destroyed forest areas and replant them with economic trees. Bulldozers will level the degraded terrain, while the Forestry Commission will partner the military on reclamation and reforestation.
The President further announced that the Finance Minister had allocated GH¢400 million in the 2027 Budget to recruit additional Blue Water Guards to patrol water bodies and step up the campaign against illegal mining. The guards, he said, have been instructed to destroy changfang machines used for illegal mining wherever they find them.
Several of the machines have already been destroyed, he noted, leading to the clearing of many major river channels. Even so, illegal mining in tributaries continues to wash mud and silt into the rivers.
President Mahama said the government’s response cannot be limited to enforcement alone, stressing the need to tackle the economic hardships that drive young people into illegal mining in the first place.
