Ptesident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has directed the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to suspend the enforcement of the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulations, 2023 (L.I.2462), with immediate effect.
Additionally, he has ordered the Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, to deploy additional military forces to intensify the ongoing "Operation Halt", which aims to curb illegal mining activities.
The operation would be bolstered by the deployment of naval boats on polluted river bodies to ensure the immediate cessation of all mining activities, legal or illegal, in and around these water bodies.
In a bid to enhance legal action against illegal mining activities, the President has further directed the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, to work with the Chief Justice to add more to the four courts dedicated to cases related to illegal mining.