The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has launched Operation Water Shield, a nationwide enforcement campaign aimed at protecting Ghana’s major rivers, watersheds and other critical water resources from the devastating impact of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The new operation represents a shift from short-term raids to a sustained national enforcement strategy designed to protect key river systems from their sources through downstream communities and water treatment facilities.
According to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Operation Water Shield will target some of Ghana’s most threatened rivers, including the Birim, Ankobra, Tano, Bia, Pra and Offin Rivers, as well as affected portions of the Black Volta and White Volta systems.
Strategic river source areas and upper catchments will also receive special attention because degradation in these locations can have serious consequences for downstream water quality and access to clean water.
Operation Water Shield to Target Illegal Mining Networks
The enforcement campaign will be intelligence-led and carried out in collaboration with relevant security agencies and other state institutions.
NAIMOS said the broader objective is to protect critical water bodies, prevent illegal miners from accessing strategic river corridors, dismantle illegal mining networks and support investigations and prosecutions.
The operation will also create the conditions necessary for the restoration of polluted and degraded water bodies across the country.
NAIMOS outlined six major objectives for Operation Water Shield:
- Protect strategic river source areas and upper watersheds.
- Prevent illegal miners from accessing riverbanks and waterways.
- Dismantle logistics networks supporting illegal mining.
- Disrupt criminal and financial networks that fund galamsey activities.
- Support the restoration of degraded rivers and water bodies.
- Establish permanent monitoring and enforcement systems to prevent illegal miners from returning to cleared areas.
Excavators and Mining Equipment Targeted
The government says the campaign is intended to significantly reduce and contain illegal mining activities within protected watersheds, while restricting the movement of heavy mining equipment into sensitive river systems.
Authorities also expect the operation to contribute to sustained improvements in water quality, disrupt the financing of illegal mining and restore government control over affected river basins.
NAIMOS warned illegal miners operating along riverbanks and water bodies that enforcement under Operation Water Shield would be firm.
Mining equipment used to destroy water bodies, including excavators, chanfang machines, water pumps, dredging equipment and other heavy machinery, will remain key targets of enforcement operations.
The Secretariat said such equipment could be seized, permanently immobilised or otherwise dealt with in accordance with Ghana’s laws and established procedures.
Public Support Needed to Fight Galamsey
NAIMOS has called on traditional authorities, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), equipment owners, local communities and the general public to support the successful implementation of Operation Water Shield.
The public has been encouraged to provide credible information about illegal mining operations and individuals, companies or organisations suspected of financing, facilitating or supplying equipment for galamsey activities.
NAIMOS stressed that Ghana’s rivers must be protected from activities that threaten the country’s water supply and environmental sustainability.
The Secretariat said Operation Water Shield sends a clear message that Ghana’s rivers are not mining sites or dumping grounds for wastewater generated from mining activities.
NAIMOS has pledged to maintain pressure on illegal miners and the networks supporting them until critical water bodies, river corridors and protected watersheds are effectively secured and conditions are created for their environmental recovery.
Source: newsthemegh.com