It is now illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell chanfangs (the machines used on river bodies for illegal mining), President Nana Akufo-Addo has said. In an interview during his recent 3-day tour of the Eastern Region, the president noted that the move is part of his government’s anti-galamsey measures. He also said: “We have increased significantly, the level of sanctions against people who engage in galamsey.” “Today, Ghanaians who get involve will get a 15-year minimum sentence if convicted and foreigners will get as long as a 25-year imprisonment if convicted,” President Akufo-Addo stated. He noted that “in a democratic dispensation if you want a change, the first thing to do is advocacy to change public opinion.” Also, he said the anti-galamsey team, ‘Operation Halt’, has been given a boost to undertake its task. “The problem was that we disengaged too quickly, once the first plot has gone through, this year we have decided to use the whole year to maintain Operation Halt, especially, the fight on our river bodies,” he said. “Surveyors have taken charge of impactful machines, excavators and chanfang and they are being destroyed because it is our major problem in our mining.”