The National Security Secretariat in the Ashanti Region has announced a one-month ban on all mining activities and the movement of excavators in the Juaben Municipality.
The ban is part of efforts to stop illegal mining, also known as galamsey, and allow damaged land to be restored.
The ban will remain in place throughout July. It was announced by the Deputy Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, Alhaji Nji Abdallah Umar, after he visited several mining sites in the municipality.
He explained that the Ashanti Regional Security Council decided to use this period to reclaim land damaged by mining and help restore polluted rivers and other water bodies.
Alhaji Umar also warned that no one will be allowed to carry out mining or move excavators during the one-month period. He said security agencies have been directed to make sure the ban is fully enforced.
“The Regional Minister, who chairs the Regional Coordinating Council and the Regional Security Council, has declared that from today, Wednesday, until next month, no mining activities will be permitted in the Juaben Municipality. What we want to see is the reclamation of pits and the restoration of degraded lands,” he said.
