The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has launched the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), a centralised body tasked with coordinating Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, also known as galamsey.
The new Secretariat was inaugurated on Wednesday, June 26, 2025, in Accra, with support from the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, and the Minister for Defence, Dr Omane Boamah.
NAIMOS will serve as the national command centre for all intelligence-led anti-galamsey operations. Its mandate includes coordinating state security forces, developing field strategies, enforcing mining and environmental laws, and working with local communities and traditional leaders to develop inclusive and sustainable solutions to the galamsey menace.
“With 16% of our land reserves already degraded by illegal mining activities, NAIMOS will provide the focused leadership required to win this fight,” Hon. Buah said at the inauguration. He pledged full support for the Secretariat and reaffirmed his commitment to tackling the issue “without fear or favour.”
The Secretariat will also liaise with the National Security Secretariat and report regularly to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, using data-driven approaches to ensure transparency and accountability in its operations.
The Defence Ministry, represented by Deputy Minister Ernest Brogya Genfi, affirmed the military’s backing of NAIMOS operations, especially in reclaiming degraded forests and polluted water bodies. He added that the initiative has the full endorsement of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, President John Dramani Mahama.
Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak also pledged his Ministry’s operational support to the Secretariat.
Even ahead of its formal launch, NAIMOS had already coordinated a number of successful operations in the Eastern, Ashanti, Western, Central, and Western North regions. These raids have resulted in the seizure of over 50 excavators, three bulldozers, one van, several generators, and other mining equipment, as well as multiple arrests of illegal miners.
The launch event brought together security commanders, agency heads, and traditional leaders, all united in their commitment to safeguard Ghana’s natural resources from the destructive effects of illegal mining.
