The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor on Tuesday 18th May 2020, accompanied by the Airforce Commander and the General Officer commanding Operation Halt visited the mining site of Kate Gyamfua, national women’s Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party, NPP.
The entourage on board a military helicopter orbited and hovered on the site to assess the situation on the ground.
The operation halts the military task force on Sunday, May 17, 2021, burnt 8 excavators, a bulldozer, and dozens of water pumping machines on the same site.
The task force reportedly returned to the site on Monday, May 17, 2021, to burn a faulty excavator and a large water pumping machine which escaped their notice on Sunday. They also set fire into other excavators which were not properly burnt. A total of 16 excavators working on the concession of Xtra Gold Company Limited, a large-scale mining firm during Sunday’s operation.
According to a Facebook post by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, apart from visiting the mining site of Kate Gyamfua, they also undertook an aerial tour of River Oda, Brim, Offin, and Pra in the Ashanti, Eastern, Central and Western Regions.
“This tour was necessitated to ascertain for me the current progress of Operation Halt, I must say what I observed was daunting. However, the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is determined and committed in our resolve to protect the environment and reclaim degraded land. I also had the opportunity to interact with communities along with the river bodies and entreated all to support the government’s ongoing efforts to sanitize our forests and water bodies. A concerted effort by all stakeholders is the only way to overcome this menace”.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
