The joint taskforce against illegal mining, also known as galamsey, has stated that their aim is not to arrest individuals involved in the menace but rather to prevent them from engaging in the illegal activities.

According to the Commander of the Operation Halt Task Force, Col Eric Tenadu, the taskforce’s primary mission is to restore the rivers to their original states.

“At the end of the day, that is our aim. If all of them stop these activities on the water body and we come and our water is clean, the aim is not to come and arrest somebody. We are just asking that they should stop doing that activity on the water body. And so if they willingly stop, I think we should be grateful for that,” he said.

Speaking to JoyNews’ Maxwell Agbagba, who was on the ground with the taskforce as they destroyed mining equipment on the Birim River, Col Tenadu said that the taskforce’s actions have already sent a strong message to illegal miners.

• Read also: Military destroys 18 Chanfans in Birim River in new anti-galamsey operation

“We have been able to send the message that we wanted to send across. I think the message has gone round and they clearly have our message. And so most of them moved their items and things before we even got there," he said.

He declared an unwavering campaign to eliminate illegal miners from Ghana's water bodies, pledging to continue their efforts until the polluted rivers are fully restored.

“In all, we were able to destroy about 18 chanfans that were on the water body and then about 10 machines, water pumping machines also on the water body. This is an effort to help bring back the colour of our water body and so it will continue.”

Col. Eric Tenadu stated that the taskforce, which includes fully armed soldiers, is committed to patrolling every water body in the country to confront and halt those engaged in illegal mining.

“Just like I said, today is the first day, tomorrow will continue but then I'm unable to tell you where we are going tomorrow. When it's time, I'll let you know but for now, all that I can say is that we are going to all the water bodies and we have started from Brim. 

“Tomorrow, we'll go to another location and then we'll continue until we cover all the water bodies in the country and hopefully, we want to see a change in the colour of our water bodies,” he added.