The Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) has suspended all mining activities in the Juaben Municipality for one month, a drastic measure aimed at halting rampant illegal mining and initiating intensive land reclamation.
To ensure strict compliance, the ARCC has restricted the movement of all heavy mining machinery. Instead of being evacuated, the equipment has been ordered to remain on-site to be used directly in restoring the heavily degraded environment.
Speaking during a field inspection of mining sites, the Regional Deputy Security Coordinator, Alhaji Abdullah Umaru Nje, described the environmental devastation in the municipality as catastrophic and requiring immediate intervention.
Alhaji Nje explained that the temporary suspension is vital to reclaiming heavily degraded lands.
He noted that the ARCC’s decision is aimed strictly at giving the environment a lifeline, and the on-site equipment will be put to work to achieve exactly that.
The environmental damage is particularly severe at the intersection of Akronwe and Wabiri, where illegal miners are operating dangerously close to the main road, as well as at the intersection of Achiase and Anumso.
Severe devastation was also observed at Pemenase, though those operations are located further away from major transport routes.
The National Security Operatives seized some excavators used by the illegal miners for their devastating activities.
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