President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo has charged a ten-member inter-ministerial committee to monitor effectively all illegal mining activities in the country and arrest same.

Speaking at a ceremony to officially outdoor a new Secretariat of the Presidential Committee on Environment and Natural Resources located at the Office of the President Annex in Cantonments, Accra, President Akufo-Addo said the year 2018 will see increased government support for the fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey in the country.

The president added that the new secretariat ought to take full advantage of the support and ensure that illegal mining is dealt with.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, who is also the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, assured that he and his colleague ministers, who constitute the committee, will work with all stakeholders particularly the Association of Small Scale Miners of Ghana to ensure that the fight against galamsey is won.

The 10-member cabinet committee established by the President is tasked with the responsibility of implementing to the letter, government’s strategy on combating the illegal mining menace the country is faced with.

The other Committee members are the Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Peter Amewu, Minister for Regional Reintegration, Dan Botwe, Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, Minister for Water Resources and Sanitation, Kofi Adda, Minister for Local Government, Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Akoto Osei and the for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Kofi Dzamesi.