The Bono Regional Security Taskforce has arrested two suspected notorious illegal miners at Wamfie in the Dormaa East District of the region.
The two were arrested at an illegal mining site during a swoop, led by Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister. The suspects are Kofi Damoah, 36, popularly known as “Allah” and his accomplice, Stephen Ansu, whose age cannot be determined.
Kofi Damoah has been accused of recruiting and habouring several illegal miners to undertake the ‘galamsey’ activities at various sites at Nkrankwanta, Wamfie and Dormaa-Ahenkro in the region.
The taskforce retrieved from him two locally made guns, several cartridges, pumping machines and other small scale mining tools and equipment.
Mad Owusu-Banahene after the operation said the special taskforce force was set up to control illegal mining and logging in the region as part of government’s efforts to control the menace in the country.
The Regional Minister noted the devastating effects of illegal mining and logging in the region are enormous and called on traditional authorities, assembly members and individuals to support the nationwide fight against the practice.
“We cannot allow these miscreants in the society to continue to destroy our river bodies and deplete our forest resources with their unscrupulous activities, the taskforce would require support from all citizens to bring the situation under control”
“This is why the government has decentralized the fight against galamsey, illegal logging and lumbering going on in our forest reserves, and we require support from everybody to bring the situation under the barest minimum”, Mad Owusu-Banahene stated.
She added the Green Ghana project introduced by the government to encourage people to plant, water and nurture trees would be in vain, if activities of illegal chainsaw operators were not brought under control, and called on the media to help intensify the campaign against environmental degradation.
