The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has expressed worry and concern over two obstacles that appear to be undermining its mission to free the country’s environment, forests and water bodies from the grip of illegal miners, popularly known as galamseyers.
The Secretariat has identified these two major challenges as logistical constraints and interference from influential individuals, both of which continue to impede its operations.
Addressing Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the Western Region, the Deputy Director of Operations, Lt. Col. Joshua Satekla, revealed that despite government’s intensified crackdown, the galamsey fight continues to suffer major setbacks.
According to him, the persistent interference by powerful individuals, including some traditional leaders and political actors, as well as inadequate logistics, pose serious threats to the effectiveness of NAIMOS.
“These challenges undermine operational effectiveness and embolden illegal miners,” he warned.
He explained that, just like any institution with its own concerns, NAIMOS is no exception. “Interference from influential people like chiefs, politicians and other stakeholders in the areas where we operate is a big problem,” he said.
“The other problem has to do with logistics. When you move vehicles from Accra to wherever we are deployed, definitely the car will suffer a breakdown. So these are the two biggest challenges militating against our mission,” he added.
Despite these setbacks, NAIMOS is rolling out renewed efforts to intensify the anti-galamsey fight, beginning with the deployment of its first batch of fifty officers to the Western Region. The deployment forms part of a harmonised national strategy to clamp down on illegal mining activities, restore degraded lands and secure the country’s water resources.
The officers will be stationed in Ellembelle District, Ahanta West Municipality and Wassa Amenfi East Municipality, which have been identified as strategic operational zones.
They will also provide supervision and support to anti-galamsey activities across other Assemblies within the region.
Lt. Col. Satekla emphasised that the success of the operation hinges significantly on the cooperation of local authorities.
“Without the support of the Assemblies, our work on enforcing no-go zones and dismantling illegal mining operations becomes extremely difficult,” he stressed.
He, therefore, called for proactive collaboration, intelligence sharing, and a coordinated response to ensure that illegal miners do not exploit institutional gaps.
The session, which brought together two regional police commanders, also provided a platform for NAIMOS to outline a unified operational framework designed to streamline enforcement activities.
This framework aims to eliminate fragmentation among state actors and ensure that efforts by the Assemblies, security agencies and the Secretariat complement one another.
MMDCEs who took part in the briefing expressed confidence in the renewed strategy. Ellembelle DCE, Joseph Agyekum, Prestea Huni-Valley MCE, Mathew Ayeh and Ahanta West MCE, Ing. Ebenezer Kofi Aidoo all pledged their commitment to support the initiative.
They noted that the collaborative approach introduced by NAIMOS presents a more coordinated, intelligence-driven and sustainable path toward achieving meaningful results.
The local government officials further highlighted their hopes that the upcoming deployment would help to curb the increasing destruction of farmlands, forest reserves and river bodies—areas that have come under severe threat from illegal mining activities.
They reaffirmed their readiness to provide the necessary administrative backing, logistical facilitation and community engagement to ensure the success of the operations.
With illegal mining continuing to pose a national security risk and threaten long-term environmental sustainability, NAIMOS’s move is expected to mark a significant shift in the country’s anti-galamsey campaign.
The deployment of the first fifty officers is scheduled to commence in the coming days, raising expectations among stakeholders that this renewed effort will help reclaim the environment and restore normalcy to affected communities.
