Ashanti Regional Minister Dr Frank Amoakohene has given illegal miners a two-week deadline to leave water bodies and forest reserves, as the government steps up efforts to tackle the issue.
Dr Amoakohene warned that the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council would deploy a team to enforce the directive and put a stop to mining activities in protected areas.
Speaking at his first media briefing since taking office, he outlined measures to combat illegal mining and ensure stricter enforcement of environmental regulations.
The president, he said, “Has issued a directive that anyone in the forest reserves mining should vacate those places. We’re giving them up to two weeks. If you are mining within forest reserves and if you don’t want to be on the other side of the law, you have two weeks to vacate or leave those places.”
“The other area has to do with water bodies, so, we’re giving them two weeks. If you have any investment whatsoever and you are on water bodies polluting them and destroying our water bodies, you have two weeks to leave the space. We will send out a team to ensure normalcy and restore order within the mining sector.”
