The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has announced the seizure of 94 excavators and the arrest of 237 individuals in connection with illicit mining activities.
According to NAIMOS, the majority of those apprehended are foreign nationals.
This development is part of the intensified nationwide crackdown on illegal mining, locally known as “galamsey”.
At the NAIMOS Editors’ Forum and quarterly press briefing held at the Press Centre in Accra on Wednesday, March 25, the Director of Operations, Col. Dominic Buah, highlighted significant achievements made in recent months to combat the menace.
Col. Buah indicated that NAIMOS measures the effectiveness of its operations using a “strike rate”, which currently stands at 87.7 per cent.
“94 excavators so far have been seized and secured in our location. Almost 3,000 fans were destroyed. Arrests: We have 237. The majority of them are foreigners,” he said.
“Then, you have seen a strike rate of 87.7. Anytime we move to the field, and we meet one of the key parameters, the things we do, the seizures, the arrests, and the destruction, we count it as a positive. That determines the strike rate,” he said.
He added that operatives have also resorted to immobilising excavators found at illegal mining sites due to logistical challenges.
“I must tell you that at the galamsey site, the number of excavators is going down drastically. We used to meet 10 to 20 excavators. But now, you hardly meet any of them. The ones you meet there are already immobilised,” he added.
“Unfortunately, the Galamseyers are also smart. They keep coming up with new ideas on how to fix the excavators,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the senior military officer says NAIMO has begun collaborating with the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation (GIISDEC) to clear and repurpose scrap metal from polluted water bodies.
“Let me reiterate that for the metal components in the waterways, we have started collaboration with the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation. They are currently on the Ankobra. I was there last week with them. And they are packing all the damaged Changfans’ metal fabrications, which are on the waterway,” he said.
“We move diligently from one water body to another and pack all the scrap. We can put them to good use,” he stated.
He added that pumping machines, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will be repurposed. As we’ve seen, several of them have been donated to farmers. We want to ensure that they are not sent back to the Galamsey site, but they are repurposed for good use, as well as other equipment.”
According to him, “Vehicles seized, we push them into the operations once they are formally seized by the attorney general’s department so that we pull the resources together and get this canker eliminated,” he said.
He also touched on issues of security and the dangers they are confronted with.
He said that NAIMOS has confiscated at least 59 weapons from illegal miners, describing the development as a major national security threat.
“We had a few encounters where one of my soldiers was shot. Luckily, the bullet hit his tie, and he’s recovering,” he disclosed.
“But as I reiterated the last time, NAIMOS will not stand by and watch people use weapons against us. We are better trained in weapons. And therefore, I will send a warning out there once again that anybody who dares, NAIMOS will deal with them ruthlessly,” he cautioned.
“It is a problem that we are trying to address. But we have the right to self-defence. And let no “Galamseyer” miss that. If you go to their field with a weapon and you try to fire it, a lot more will be at you,” he added.
