NAIMOS has cleared nearly 49 forest reserves of illegal miners - Prez Mahama

·5 min read·18 Aug 2026

President John Dramani Mahama says the country is making progress in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, as the government intensifies efforts to reclaim forest reserves and other environmentally sensitive areas affected by the practice.

He made the remarks during his Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper East Region, where he reaffirmed his administration's commitment to protecting the country's forests, water bodies and other natural resources from illegal mining.

"NAIMOS is working very hard. We have seized excavators, we have seized Changfang machines, and we have driven illegal miners out of this area, and we are making progress. Out of the almost 49 forest reserves that were invaded, we have been able to clear as many of them as possible of illegal miners," he said.

According to the President, the government's renewed campaign is beginning to yield results, particularly in forest reserves that had been heavily encroached upon, with the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) playing a key role through the seizure of excavators and changfang machines and the removal of miners from several forest reserves.

President Mahama said the government had also changed its approach to protecting cleared forest reserves from re-invasion.

"What we initially did was that we handed the places to the Forestry Commission after clearing them, but the illegal miners don't fear the forest guards, and so we now put a military detachment after we clear a forest reserve," he said.

He acknowledged that the shift would come at a cost.

"That means we will have to spend more money to feed the soldiers and provide logistics for them to continue to stay in the forest, but we will not give up the fight," he said.

The President acknowledged the additional resources required to sustain security deployments in reclaimed forest reserves but said the government would remain committed to preventing illegal miners from returning to

the cleared areas.va

SOURCE:3NEWS

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NAIMOS has cleared nearly 49 forest reserves of illegal miners - Prez Mahama

·5 min read·18 Aug 2026

President John Dramani Mahama says the country is making progress in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, as the government intensifies efforts to reclaim forest reserves and other environmentally sensitive areas affected by the practice.

President Mahama said the government had also changed its approach to protecting cleared forest reserves from re-invasion.

He acknowledged that the shift would come at a cost.

"That means we will have to spend more money to feed the soldiers and provide logistics for them to continue to stay in the forest, but we will not give up the fight," he said.

the cleared areas.va

SOURCE:3NEWS

Enjoyed this article?

NAIMOS has cleared nearly 49 forest reserves of illegal miners - Prez Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama says the country is making progress in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, as the government intensifies efforts to reclaim forest reserves and other environmentally sensitive areas affected by the practice.

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NAIMOS has cleared nearly 49 forest reserves of illegal miners - Prez Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama says the country is making progress in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, as the government intensifies efforts to reclaim forest reserves and other environmentally sensitive areas affected by the practice.

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