Director of Operations at the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat, Dominic Buah, has stated that while mining is essential to Ghana’s economy, the country must urgently deal with the environmental and health dangers linked to illegal mining, widely known as galamsey.

Speaking at the NAIMOS Editors’ Forum and quarterly press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Col. Buah made it clear that stopping mining altogether is not a practical solution.

He explained that the real focus should be on making mining safer and more sustainable to protect both people and the environment.

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“If anybody told you that you can stop mining in Ghana, well, I don't believe it. Mining, as his excellency the President keeps saying, will go on.

“However, it is the sustainability that we are looking at. The health impacts and risks of Galamsey must be stopped. So, we're looking at the sustainability of mining,” he stated.

Col. Buah outlined three main priorities guiding NAIMOS’ work: prevention, restoration, and sustainability.

He noted that past efforts to fight illegal mining often fell short due to poor coordination among institutions, leading to duplication and inefficient use of resources.

“Coordination appeared to be lacking, even though all the previous initiatives had good intentions and purposes. They are all geared towards addressing them. But because we didn't have clear coordination, everybody, every institution, was doing their own thing,” he explained.

He said NAIMOS was created to fix this gap by serving as a central body to coordinate all anti-illegal mining operations across the country.

“So, the committee recommended that there should be a coordinating body. And that coordinating body, fortunately, gave rise to what we have today as NAIMOS, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat, which I am humbled and proud to be the director of operations,” he noted.

Although the Secretariat has been operating for just over ten months, Col. Buah believes it has made meaningful progress, while stressing that public and media feedback are proof of achievement chalked up.

“We have operated for a little over 10 months. And I can tell you that NAIMOS has shown enormous success. But I cannot assess myself, or we cannot assess ourselves,” he said.

He urged the media to continue playing a watchdog role by helping to evaluate NAIMOS’ efforts and guide the way forward.

“You are the mouthpiece of Ghana. You are the observers. You are the reporter. It's appropriate that we frequently engage you so that we learn from you, you review the progress made, we make you aware of what we are doing, and then you can give us your guidance for the way forward,” he stated.

The forum, he added, is meant to strengthen collaboration and ensure a more effective and sustainable fight against illegal mining.

NA/VPO

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