President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has ordered the Minister for Defence to deploy additional military forces to intensify "Operation Halt," the ongoing effort aimed at curbing illegal mining (galamsey) activities across the country.
As part of the enhanced operation, naval boats will be deployed on polluted river bodies to enforce the immediate cessation of all mining activities, whether legal or illegal, within and around these critical water bodies.
This measure is aimed at stopping the environmental degradation caused by galamsey, which has severely impacted the nation's water sources.
Additionally, the president has instructed the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to suspend the enforcement of the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2462).