President John Dramani Mahama has announced that soldiers have been deployed to remain in forest reserves cleared of illegal mining (galamsey) activities to prevent the miners from returning.

He explained that in the past, heavily armed illegal miners returned to the forest reserves after military operations, continuing to destroy the environment once security personnel had left.

However, as part of efforts to protect the forests permanently and preserve them for future generations, soldiers will now remain stationed in the affected areas to prevent a resurgence of illegal mining.

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President Mahama made these remarks during a courtesy call by chiefs from the Western North Region, during which he discussed the government’s plans to intensify the fight against galamsey.

“We have now cleared all nine of those red zones. There are no galamsey operators in those forest reserves, and we have stationed soldiers there to ensure that the illegal miners do not return. The soldiers will remain in those areas,” he said.

The President explained that the decision has become necessary because armed illegal miners had previously attacked people tasked with protecting the forest reserves, resulting in fatalities.

“Whenever forest guards went there, they were fired upon, and some lost their lives,” he added.

President Mahama also called on traditional leaders to collaborate with the government in the fight against galamsey by supporting the operations of the National Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Illegal Mining (NAIMOS) in their respective communities.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, is reported to have allocated GH¢400 million in the 2027 Budget for the recruitment of additional Blue Water Guards to patrol water bodies and combat illegal mining.

The guards have also been instructed to destroy changfang machines used for illegal mining whenever they encounter them during their operations, as part of efforts to curb the menace.

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