as ‘Galamsey’ fight shifts gear
By Philip Antoh
In a sweeping weekend operation, state anti-illegal mining forces descended on sites along the crucial Kumasi-Sunyani corridor, destroying equipment and burning makeshift camps.
The raids signal a renewed, tactically mobile effort by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) to disrupt the rampant illicit mining, known locally as galamsey, that plagues Ghana’s heartland.
Yet, the persistent pattern of miners fleeing before arrival and the severe contamination of the Tano River underscore the entrenched and evasive nature of the crisis.
Acting on intelligence, NAIMOS task forces struck at dawn on 17 January, first targeting Bronikrom near Mankraso in Ashanti Region. Miners scattered, abandoning an excavator which was promptly disabled by the removal of its critical components.
The operation then pushed into the Ahafo Region, to Kunsu and later Adeji Mim, a suburb of Duayaw Nkwanta. At each site, the story repeated: vacant camps, hastily abandoned machinery, and evidence of extensive water pollution.
The Adeji Mim site laid bare the environmental cost. Task force officials confirmed the illicit operations were drawing directly from and heavily polluting the Tano River, a vital watercourse.
In response, they destroyed a heavy-duty water pump, makeshift living structures, and burned a significant cache of equipment, including water hoses, motors, tricycles, and gold-washing platforms. Notably, four pump-action gun cartridges were also seized, hinting at the potential for violence in the sector.
The Director of Operations for NAIMOS framed the action as part of a sustained campaign to rehabilitate the Tano River, announcing intentions to permanently position surveillance troops in strategic locations within the Bono and Ahafo enclaves.
This suggests a shift from sporadic, reactive raids towards establishing a constant deterrent presence.
However, the operation also reveals enduring systemic flaws. The routine escape of miners points to possible intelligence leaks or the miners’ own sophisticated early-warning networks. Furthermore, the disabling of excavators a now-standard tactic treats a symptom but not the disease.
The machinery is often owned by shadowy financiers, not the front-line diggers, and can be quickly replaced. The burning of makeshift camps is a symbolic blow but does little to address the powerful economic incentives and complex syndicates driving the destruction.
While the government is eager to demonstrate decisive action, particularly along a major highway where the environmental degradation is visibly embarrassing, these raids alone are insufficient.
The real test will be whether the promised permanent surveillance materialises and is empowered to act against the financial backers and corrupt officials who enable galamsey to persist as a highly organised, resilient, and destructive industry. Until then, the miners are likely to simply retreat, wait, and return.