The Obuasi Airstrip is under increasing threat as illegal miners continue to expand their activities around the facility, leaving behind deep pits and polluted water bodies despite recent security interventions.
The illegal miners have resumed operations in the area, with excavators seen digging extensively in search of gold. Large tracts of vegetation have been destroyed, while nearby water bodies have been heavily polluted with heaps of sand and mining debris.
Last week, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) conducted an operation in the area during which nine excavators were seized and demobilised.
However, the exercise appears to have done little to deter the illegal miners, who have since returned to continue their activities.
Chairperson of the Obuasi Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), Faustilove Appiah Kani, expressed concern over the persistence of illegal mining and appealed to the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources to strengthen security in the area.
“You sack them today, tomorrow they are back. We are appealing to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources if they can even set up a military base, it will help,” she said.
Deputy Ashanti Regional Security Liaison, Alhaji Nje Abdalla Omar, also described the situation as worrying but assured that the Regional Security Council remains committed to tackling illegal mining.
“The Regional Security Council remains resolute in its fight against illegal mining,” he stated.