'Let’s de-escalate the politics' - NAIMOS on tackling galamsey

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) has called for politics to be taken out of the fight against illegal mining, otherwise known as “galamsey” saying the practice continues to affect communities regardless of which government is in power.

Speaking on ChannelOne TV on September 28, 2026, the NAIMOS spokesperson and Media Relations Officer at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, said the government was working “around the clock” to tackle illegal mining but stressed the need for political tensions surrounding the issue to be reduced.

“Government is working assiduously around the clock to deal decisively with the issue. But what we must do, if we are going to make proper and significant progress, is let us de-escalate the politics.

“It doesn't matter if it has worsened, and I'm not admitting. But it doesn't also matter because at every turn of the screw, when there's a transition, there's an escalation in the devastation,” he said.

He warned that the consequences of galamsey ultimately affect ordinary Ghanaians, particularly communities struggling to access clean water.

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“If even it is true, assuming without admitting that it has increased, in the next political window, if peradventure the NPP were to come into power, we should expect the same trajectory. At the end of the day, Ghanaians are the ones suffering,” he added.

He therefore questioned the wisdom of turning the fight against illegal mining into a political contest.

“Matters of this nature, how do you want to politicise it?” he asked.

Galamsey remains a major concern in Ghana, with its effects extending beyond the environment to communities and water bodies.

NAIMOS is therefore urging stakeholders to focus on addressing the problem rather than allowing political differences to undermine efforts to tackle it.

JKB/VPO

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