Operation Vanguard
Ongoing Col. William N Nortey, Amr, Operation Vanguard is a military police joint task force (JTF) set up by the President of Ghana in 2017 to combat illegal mining, known as galamsey.
Over the years, the practice has depleted Ghana's forest cover and polluted bodies of water due to the crude and unregulated nature of the mining process.
The coalition was a collective of concerned journalists in Ghana led by workers of the Graphic Communications Group Limited.
[3] Using all media platforms available to the coalition, pressure was mounted on the Government of Ghana to respond to the environmental degradation caused by galamsey.
[5] The activities of the media coalition gained support from many Ghanaians who knew the environmental damage galamsey was causing.
Chairman of the inter-ministerial committee, Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, informed Ghana that the task force would remain in the affected areas until the degraded lands and rivers had been restored and a reforestation programme undertaken.
Successful operations had stopped the pollution of bodies of water, especially at Dokokyina near the Bui Dam, as well as the rivers of Birim, Ankobra, and Offin.
[1][14] On 24 May 2018, John Peter Amewu, sector minister for Lands and Natural Resources in Ghana, said a total of 1,500 floating platforms had been destroyed.
In the first few days of the establishment of the base, four offenders were arrested, including one Chinese national and three Ghanaians at Nkutumso, in the Upper Denkyira East District of the Central Region.
[11][1] Sections of the Ghanaian public have protested against the destruction of mining equipment seized from galamseyers through Operation Vanguard.
[1] Those against the practice believed the equipment could be auctioned or put to use by the government in road construction or other beneficial activities, rather than burning it.
[19] In 2018 it was suggested that the President of Ghana create a new national award to honour the initial 400 service personnel of Operation Vanguard.
