NAIMOS launches Operation WATER SHIELD, targets galamsey financiers and equipment suppliers

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has announced the start of Operation WATER SHIELD to protect Ghana's major rivers from galamsey. This new operation aims to target not only the miners themselves but also those who sponsor and supply them with equipment such as excavators, water pumps, and fan machines.

In a statement released on Friday, September 11, NAIMOS emphasized that past efforts primarily focused on raids at the mining sites, but this new initiative will be an intelligence-led campaign to secure river systems from their sources to downstream communities and water-treatment facilities.

The operation will target specific rivers, including the Birim, Ankobra, Tano, Bia, Pra, and Offin, as well as parts of the Black and White Volta. NAIMOS stated that these rivers have been severely impacted by illegal mining and are now a top priority. The organization is collaborating with the police, military, and other state agencies to prevent miners from reaching riverbanks and cut off the supply networks that support them.

The statement highlighted that the operation will protect strategic river source areas, dismantle mining logistics networks, disrupt the financial structures enabling illegal mining, assist in restoring degraded water bodies, and establish ongoing monitoring to prevent reoccupation of cleared areas.

Any equipment found being used for galamsey, such as excavators, fan machines, water pumps, or dredging machinery, will be seized and dealt with in accordance with the law.