Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, has described the government's recent actions to combat illegal mining or galamsey, as a "refreshing change."

He however noted that there are still things that the government ought to do to ensure that the menace is halted.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsnight on Thursday, October 10, Dr Ashigbey noted, “For once, we are not talking about will again, we’ve heard about some action being done. It is early days yet, but I will say it is a refreshing change from what we were seeing.”

His remarks follow President Nana Akufo-Addo’s directive to deploy additional military forces as part of "Operation Halt," an initiative aimed at tackling the illegal mining menace.

Over 100 armed military personnel were deployed to key water bodies, focusing on the Birim River in the Eastern Region, to clamp down on the environmental destruction caused by illegal mining.

As part of the operation, 18 chanfan machines and 10 water pumping machines, both commonly used for illegal gold extraction, were seized and destroyed.

While praising these efforts, Dr Ashigbey urged Ghanaians to continue protesting against the menace by wearing red bands and keeping the pressure on the government to enable the state to do the things they need to do such as revocation of L.12462 which permits mining in forest reserves.

“We need to definitely keep our eyes on the ball because the challenge is widespread, not only in the Eastern Region. So we need to keep the pressure on,” he added.

He further called on the government to provide regular updates on actions taken to combat illegal mining, ensuring transparency and sustained progress in the fight.