The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has disclosed that the Attorney-General is prosecuting close to 1500 cases of illegal mining which are currently at various stages of prosecution.
The ministry said the arrests which were made by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat within the last nine months demonstrate government’s will to the fight.
The new body, known as NAIMOS, will serve as the principal authority for initiating, supervising, and regulating all anti-illegal mining operations nationwide.
According to the Ministry, NAIMOS is the result of an inter-agency collaboration involving the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior, the National Security Council, and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
Speaking on Sompa FM’s For God and Country show, Director of Communications at the Ministry, Ama Mawusi Mawuenyefia emphasized that government is resolved to ending the galamsey menace.
She added that NAIMOS has confiscated several excavators, changfang machines, water pumping machines and generators since January 2025.
She noted that currently, the Ministry has deployed more NAIMOS personnel to the security zones and the hotspots to prevent the illegal miners from returning to these sites.
AMA Mawusi Mawuenyefia also responded to reclamation measures by government and claims that even though operations of NAIMOS are still ongoing; our river bodies have not seen any significant transformation.
She explained that government requires a lot of financial budget to reclaim water bodies that have been destroyed by illegal mining.
To her, it will be difficult to reclaim a river body that has been destroyed over the past 8 years in the space of 9 months.
This she argues Ghanaians need to understand the situation and support government on this course.
However, Mawusi Ama Mawuenyefia assured that government will not relent on its galamsey fight efforts.
She cautioned illegal miners to desist from their activities or face prosecution if caught.
Sompaonline.com/Theresa Asare