Fight against galamsey: Ahanta West MCE hits hard at illegal miners in Cape Three Point Forest Reserve

The Ahanta West Municipal Chief Executive, Ebenezer Kofi Aidoo has hit hard at illegal miners operating in one of Ghana's revered forest reserves, The Cape Three Point Forest Reserve, destroying several equipment and arresting several miners in the process.

This follows a warning he gave few days ago of persuing people engaged in illegal mining in the municipality, and riding Ahanta West of any acts of galamsey as long as he remains the Chief Executive of the area.

A visibly angry Ebenezer Aidoo called out illegal miners and urged community members to help in the fight against the canker that is wreaking a lot of havoc on Ghana's environment.

"We must stop these devastating calamity together. The ripple effect of Galamsey is huge and we must all help in taken action against these illegal miners," he wrote on his Facebook wall.

The operation., according to the MCE, happened "deep in the Cape 3 Points forest", as they "successfully conducted an operation, targeting illegal miners". He added that the operation, coducted in collaboratiin with National Security and the Police, led to the destruction of ten (10) changfan machines and the arrest of seven (7) illegal miners.

"Our joint team, comprising National Security personnel and the Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the Ghana Police Service, made 7 arrests and destroyed over 10 chamfa machines, popularly called (one leg) dealing a significant blow to the illegal mining activities in the area," he wrote. 

The John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) has made the fight against illegal mining as one of its top most targets, and has thus made it one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief executives (MMDCEs) all across the country, especially in areas where galamsey is endemic. It has described the fight against illegal mining as one of the reset agenda it is persuing.

The Ahanta West MCE has therefore committed to achieving this particular KPI by ensuring that he uproots galamsey from his municipality. He says the operation in the Cape Three Points Forest Reserve indicates his willingness to ensure his government wins the fight against the environmental destructive practice

"This operation underscores our commitment to protecting the environment and enforcing the law," he indicated.