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Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, the Eastern Regional Minister, has said that a 24-hour surveillance would be instituted to check illegal mining in all mining areas in the region. She urged the Police and the other security forces to beef up personnel at areas known for galamsey activities and also charged the Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) to form task forces to stop the illegal practice. Ms Ntoso made the declaration when she and her Deputy, Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong, led the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Zoomlion Ghana Limited, to embark on a massive clean-up exercise at the Asikam community in the East Akyem Municipality. The Minister said her outfit would not relent in its efforts to clamp down on the canker which is fast degrading the vast natural resources of the area. �We will not sit down unconcerned for selfish individuals to destroy our water bodies, forests and the land resources to the detriment of the poor in the society,� she said. The NADMO, Zoomlion, EPA, joined by the Regional Minister and her Deputy, cleared gutters and drains that had been choked with sand and weeds. The Minister later launched the Regional Pre-Flood Clean-up Campaign and inaugurated the Municipal �galamsey� Task Force made up of five people including the Municipal Chief Executive, the Municipal Police Commander, Municipal Director for the EPA, Municipal Commander of the Fire Service and the Municipal Coordinator for the NADMO, to monitor the activities of illegal small scale miners in the area. Ms Ntoso appealed to the Task Force to work hard at ending the illegal mining activities in the Municipality failure of which she said could lead to the sanctioning of the Chairman of the Task Force, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Teye Martey.� The Chairman, on behalf of the committee members, pledged his commitment to avert illegal mining in the Municipality. Mr Ransford Owusu Boakye, the Regional NADMO Coordinator, urged members of the community and all stakeholders to get involved in all affairs regarding disasters in the area. �It is imperative that we de-silt all choked gutters and drains and clear weeds in waterways of storm-drains frequently to prevent floods in our communities, while refraining from dumping refuse in gutters or building in waterways,� he said. Nana Kodua Kesse, Member of the Council of State and Chairman of the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction Committee, said the detachment on the part of the stakeholders and community leaders were also part of the reasons for the spread of fire and flooding disasters facing the nation. While appreciating the Pre-Flood Clean-Up Campaign exercise, he suggested that the practice be held at least once every month to rid the society of filth and clear all drainage systems in the various communities. Mr Ernest Kusi, Regional Manager for the Zoomlion, charged community members to do what it takes to prevent disasters and health hazards adding �we must collectively get our hands on the wheel to keep our surroundings clean and prevent the spread of cholera and water borne diseases.�