The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has begun community engagements in illegal mining-prone areas, seeking to strengthen collaboration with local stakeholders and improve intelligence sharing as part of a broader strategy to combat galamsey.
In a statement issued on Thursday, October 29, and signed by spokesperson Paa Kwesi Schandorf, NAIMOS said the engagements would bring together traditional authorities, local government officials, opinion leaders, and other stakeholders to promote collective responsibility in tackling the menace .
The Secretariat stressed that the engagements would not replace ongoing enforcement operations but would complement them under a coordinated national approach. The initiative is being led by NAIMOS Director of Operations, Colonel K. S. Appiah, who took over the role in June 2026 .
A Shift Beyond Arrests and Seizures
The community outreach marks a strategic pivot for NAIMOS, which has in recent months intensified kinetic operations against illegal mining networks. Between June 13 and September 30, 2026, the Secretariat conducted 738 operational activities covering approximately 50,662 kilometres nationwide, destroying 1,970 changfans and 863 makeshift structures, and recovering 74 firearms and 551 rounds of ammunition .
Colonel Appiah acknowledged in a recent press briefing that the military cannot remain permanently stationed in every hotspot. The strategy, he said, involves clearing and stabilising affected areas before gradually transferring routine monitoring and protection duties to the Forestry Commission, relevant security agencies, and local communities .
The community engagement programme is designed to build public confidence, address local concerns, and encourage residents to share information with authorities. NAIMOS has previously credited community-supplied intelligence, including GPS coordinates, with enabling targeted deployments .
Ministerial and Presidential Backing
The initiative forms part of an approach adopted by the sector minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, in line with President John Dramani Mahama’s vision of a comprehensive strategy to combat illegal mining . The Lands Minister has consistently argued that enforcement alone cannot resolve the crisis, pointing to prosecution bottlenecks and the need for alternative livelihoods.
Speaking at the Mining in Motion Summit earlier this month, President Mahama disclosed that illegal mining had affected 48 of Ghana’s 288 forest reserves, with about 12,000 acres destroyed. Nine reserves were declared red zones due to heavily armed miners, though all nine have since been cleared .
Environmental Recovery Signals
The community engagement push comes amid tentative signs of ecological recovery. Colonel Appiah reported that rivers including the Ankobra, Bia, Tano, and Birim are showing signs of improvement, with fish returning to the Bia River . NAIMOS is also preparing to extend its Operation Water Shield to two additional major river bodies before the end of 2026, while planning Operation Green Shield targeting illegal mining in the Atiwa Forest Reserve .
The Secretariat is working with the Ghana Navy to establish a dedicated riverine unit to sustain patrols and prevent miners from returning to cleared waterways .
Prosecution Remains the Weak Link
Despite operational gains, the government has acknowledged that prosecution remains a critical vulnerability. Minister Buah stated in August that “the challenge we are having is not the arrest. It is the prosecution,” noting that the Ministry was working with the Attorney General’s Department to address the gap . NAIMOS has emphasised evidence preservation and collaboration with investigative bodies to support successful prosecutions, with Colonel Appiah stating that “our responsibility extends to preserving evidence and supporting the justice process so that enforcement can produce credible deterrence” .
Background
NAIMOS operates under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources as the coordinating unit for intelligence-led field operations against illegal mining nationwide . The Secretariat was restructured in June 2026, with Colonel S.K. Appiah succeeding Colonel Dominic Buah as Director of Operations . Ghana’s galamsey crisis has caused extensive environmental damage, polluting major river systems and degrading forest reserves, while successive enforcement campaigns have struggled to translate arrests into convictions or deter financiers who profit from the trade. The community engagement approach reflects a growing recognition that sustainable progress requires local buy-in and intelligence partnerships, not solely military-style operations.
