The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has declared that he will not allow himself to be compromised in the fight against illegal mining, pledging to pursue those financing and sponsoring the destruction of Ghana’s water bodies and forests.
“I would choose to fight with integrity and die than be corrupted in this dangerous work that will destroy all of us. And that is the pledge we have for the people of Ghana,” the Minister declared.
Mr Armah-Kofi Buah made the remarks on Thursday after a 16-kilometre journey on the Ankobra River in the Western Region as part of a working visit to assess ongoing operations against illegal mining.
“We are going to continue on. We will not waver, we will not stop,” he told journalists.
The Minister said the next phase of the government’s anti-illegal mining campaign would increasingly target the financiers and sponsors behind illegal mining operations, rather than focusing solely on equipment and operators found at mining sites.
“The machines we’ve destroyed, the excavators we’ve seized — those behind them are powerful forces that are hiding in the dark. And our next phase is continuing to fish them out,” he said.
“We are going to continue to fight all the way — those sponsors, those financiers — until we win this fight.”
Minister cites progress on Ankobra
Mr Armah-Kofi Buah undertook the visit to assess operations by the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), working jointly with the Navy Special Forces under Operation Water Shield.
He said the Ankobra River had previously become heavily occupied by illegal mining operations, with changfan machines and other makeshift equipment operating along the water body.
According to the Minister, Thursday’s journey showed a significant change.
“If you had actually visited the Ankobra in the last one year, where the whole river was basically a workshop where changfan machines were being manufactured left and right and were all over the river body… today, I can tell you that through all the mileage we’ve covered, the Ankobra is completely cleared of changfan machines, cleared of other makeshift equipment,” he said.
Mr Armah-Kofi Buah said close to 3,000 machines had been removed from the Ankobra, Offin and other rivers, while more than 237 arrests had been made, including 144 foreign nationals.
He attributed the gains to a shift away from sporadic raids towards intelligence-led operations and permanent security deployments.
“It clearly shows that we are turning the corner. We are using more intelligence-led operations. We are being very intentional about these operations, and the results are showing,” he said.
The Minister acknowledged that the rivers had not yet returned to the condition the government ultimately wants but insisted that considerable progress had been made.
“We have not gotten to that point where we want to see the river blue, but I think we’ve made great progress in clearing all the changfan machines and the thugs that were wielding guns — they are all gone,” he said.
He also challenged critics of the government’s anti-galamsey campaign to visit affected areas before concluding that the fight was failing.
“You would not be sitting on any TV in Accra talking that we are not making progress with the fight against illegal mining. In fact, we are making substantial progress,” he said.
Government targets financiers
Despite the progress, Mr Armah-Kofi Buah acknowledged that the campaign remained difficult, particularly because of what he described as powerful interests operating behind illegal mining activities.
He commended the security personnel involved in the operations and said President John Dramani Mahama remained committed to the campaign.
“The President has told me to inform you that he is very, very interested in what you are doing, and he is rooting for us to succeed,” he told the personnel.
The Minister also pointed to efforts to move young people previously involved in illegal mining into mining cooperatives and regulated small-scale mining, alongside training and capacity-building programmes.
“You can look for gold without destroying our water bodies and our forests. You can look for gold without damaging our environment. You can look for gold responsibly and sustainably. And that is the future we are looking for,” he said.
Mr Armah-Kofi Buah maintained that although significant work remained, the changes observed on the Ankobra demonstrated that the government’s strategy was beginning to produce results.
“We are not where we want to be, but I bet you, if you ask me what we have achieved against what we inherited, I can tell you that Ankobra is an example,” he said, adding that “The road ahead is not easy. It also requires us to rededicate ourselves to fight this fight with integrity.”
