The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) plans to extend its fight against illegal mining to two more major river bodies before the end of the year, as it steps up efforts to protect Ghana’s water resources and prevent illegal miners from returning to cleared areas.
The Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Colonel K. S. Appiah, said the planned interventions would form part of Operation Watershield, which began in the Birim area at the end of July before being extended to the Ankobra River.
Addressing the media on an update on the fight against illegal mining, he said the next phase would place greater emphasis on maintaining security in areas cleared of illegal mining activities.
Colonel Appiah declined to name the two additional river bodies targeted for operations, citing operational reasons, but said the interventions would take place before the end of the year.
“For good reasons, I will not mention which river bodies, but before the end of the year, we’ll be tackling two major river bodies as part of Operation Watershield,” he said.
He added that the strategy would go beyond clearing illegal mining sites to ensuring that operators did not return once intensive enforcement operations had ended.
As part of efforts to sustain the gains made on the Ankobra River, NAIMOS plans to deploy a dedicated riverine unit in collaboration with the Ghana Navy.
Colonel Appiah said the unit would operate after interventions by the Navy’s Special Boat Squadron, providing a continued security presence to prevent illegal mining activities from resuming.
He explained that the planned deployment would focus on regular patrols, deterring illegal operators and protecting areas already cleared by enforcement teams.
“On the Ankobra, in close coordination with the Ghana Navy, we plan to deploy a dedicated riverine unit following the Special Boat Squadron operations,” he said.
He said the unit would help maintain the gains made during the initial operations and provide continuity between intensive enforcement and long-term river security.
“Its role will be to sustain patrols, deter the return of changfan operators, and consolidate the gains achieved,” Colonel Appiah said.
The deployment is intended to address the risk of illegal miners returning to river bodies after security personnel withdraw from intensive operations.
By maintaining patrols on the Ankobra, NAIMOS hopes to ensure that areas cleared of illegal mining remain protected.
Colonel Appiah said NAIMOS had already conducted some limited operations on the river systems, with more extensive interventions planned for later phases.
He explained that future operations would combine activities on land and on the water to disrupt illegal mining and strengthen protection along affected rivers.
“We’ve conducted some limited operations on the offing, but our planned operations later will combine ground and riverine actions to disrupt illegal mining activities,” he said.
He added that NAIMOS would continue its operational efforts on the Birim River while coordinating interventions across other priority river systems.
The approach is intended to address illegal mining activities affecting both river channels and surrounding areas, rather than focus only on specific locations where miners have been identified.
Colonel Appiah also stressed the importance of protecting tributaries and the areas where rivers originate, noting that activities in these locations could undermine efforts to improve the condition of the main rivers.
“It is noteworthy that protecting one section of a river must include attention to connected tributaries and source areas,” he said.
“It makes the task very big, but gradually we take it phase by phase, and we are sure that after we have cleared the tributaries and cleared the main rivers, we will now start seeing measurable improvement in the water turbidity levels,” he added.