The spokesperson for the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), Paa Kwesi Schandorf, has defended the work of the task force, arguing that illegal mining would have caused greater environmental destruction if the Secretariat did not exist.

According to him, the operations undertaken by NAIMOS have helped limit the spread of illegal mining, particularly along major water bodies.

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Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ Upfront on Thursday, November 12, 2026, Schandorf said that the extent of destruction caused by illegal mining would have been worse without the intervention of the Secretariat.

“Maybe to imagine if NAIMOS were not in existence; maybe that is when we'll be able to see the scale, the extent, and then the gravity of illegal mining, how it has become pervasive in the absence of NAIMOS,” he said.

He maintained that the situation would have been far worse if the Secretariat had not carried out its enforcement operations.

“The situation would have been worse; it would have been far worse than we are seeing now in the absence of NAIMOS,” he added.

Schandorf cited the Ankobra River as an example of the impact of the Secretariat's activities, claiming that its operations had removed illegal mining equipment from the water body.

“As we speak momentarily, you would not find a single chanfang on the Ankobra River because of the instrumentality of NAIMOS,” he stated.

He challenged journalists to independently verify the situation on the river, insisting that the results of the Secretariat's operations could be assessed through the changes recorded in affected areas.

The NAIMOS spokesperson, however, acknowledged that illegal mining had not been completely eradicated but maintained that the results achieved so far were encouraging.

“We cannot say that, well, the matter has been exterminated, but the results have been decent and proportionate,” he said.

He added that the Secretariat's achievements represented only the beginning of its efforts to combat illegal mining.

“And that is just the beginning,” Schandorf stated.

NA/BAI