…inside Ghana’s anti-galamsey drive: how the Minerals Commission is turning manpower into enforcement muscle
By Eugene Davis
At its core, the campaign carries a deeper message about stewardship. Beyond enforcement and regulation, officials say the task is fundamentally about responsibility — caring for the land rather than exhausting it. The principle echoes an old biblical injunction in Genesis 1: 28,2 v 15 that humanity was placed on the earth “to work it and keep it,” while Psalm 24 v 1 reminds that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”
For policymakers, the meaning is practical rather than poetic: Ghana’s mineral wealth is not a resource to plunder, but a trust to manage wisely for future generations.
Gold’s record surge on global markets is reshaping Ghana’s economy at a critical moment.
Higher prices have boosted export receipts and government revenues, but they have also intensified pressure on regulators to contain illegal mining — the environmental and fiscal leak that has long undermined the sector.
For years, successive administrations announced taskforces and emergency operations to tackle galamsey. Yet rivers continued to brown and forest belts shrank.
Under the new NDC administration, Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has intensified efforts to curb illegal mining, rolling out a five-pronged strategy aimed at tackling galamsey while restoring degraded ecosystems.
Led by Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the approach blends enforcement, land restoration and alternative livelihoods, signalling a shift from episodic crackdowns to a more structured and preventive framework.
At the heart of the strategy is an ambitious reclamation drive to restore lands and water bodies ravaged by illegal mining, backed by initiatives such as the Tree for Life reforestation programme. The minister recently inspected the successful restoration of 320 hectares of degraded land at Manso Nyankomanse in the Ashanti Region — comprising 240 hectares at Nyankomanse and 80 hectares at nearby Asare — describing the project as evidence that damaged landscapes can be returned to productive use. He said government would intensify similar efforts nationwide as part of the broader fight against galamsey.
Early environmental indicators suggest the push is beginning to yield results. Ministry data show turbidity levels in several major rivers have declined markedly. The River Tano at Sefwi recorded an 89 per cent drop, from 139 NTU in 2024 to 14 in 2025, while Barekese fell by half. The Ankobra at Domenase improved by 32 per cent, with similar gains at the Densu at Mangoase and the Ankobra at Ampasie. Cleaner water not only signals ecological recovery but also lowers treatment costs for utilities and reduces risks to farming and public health.
Beyond land restoration, the ministry is expanding alternative livelihood programmes, notably through the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP), to create sustainable income opportunities for communities long dependent on illegal mining.
Enforcement has also been tightened through the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), with military and police deployments protecting forest reserves and water bodies now designated as security zones. At the same time, reforms to the licensing regime aim to formalise small-scale mining and strengthen regulatory compliance.
The strategy is supported by broader stakeholder engagement — working with traditional authorities, local assemblies, civil society and the media — alongside the use of AI-powered satellite monitoring and remote sensing to detect illegal activity in real time.
Taken together, the measures reflect a more coordinated national response, pairing environmental repair with regulation, technology and community inclusion, as Ghana seeks to reverse years of ecological damage while safeguarding livelihoods and long-term economic stability.
At the heart of these strategies is one key government agency – Minerals Commission, responsible for regulating and managing the utilization of mineral resources, implementing policy, and promoting the mining sector.
Its CEO, Isaac Andrews Tandoh and his abled Deputy, Emmanuel Kwamena Anyimah are keen to make a mark during their tenure.
Their strategy has changed. Less spectacle. More systems.
At the centre of that shift is Emmanuel Kwamena Anyimah, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Support Services, whose portfolio — estates, finance, logistics and human resources — has quietly become one of the operational engines of the government’s anti-illegal mining campaign.
From his office, Anyimah oversees spending, recruitment and deployment for the Commission’s field operations, including the Blue Water Guard, now the most visible enforcement arm of the state.
“The President and the Minister of Lands were clear that enforcement must work this time,” he says. “My responsibility is to make sure we build structures that stay — not exercises that come and go.”
Building enforcement that stays on the ground
Launched last year, the Blue Water Guard was designed as a permanent, community-based force to protect rivers, concessions and forest belts from illegal activity.
Unlike periodic military-style swoops, the model relies on trained local recruits embedded within affected districts, providing daily surveillance and intelligence.
Anyimah supervises the entire chain — recruitment, vetting, training and deployment.
“We didn’t want a symbolic programme,” he explains. “We wanted something structured and accountable, with people permanently assigned to the communities they protect.”
The numbers reflect that intent.
More than 1,600 personnel have already been deployed nationwide, with a target of over 2,000. The initiative has been backed with roughly GH¢4mn in funding, including about GH¢3.2mn in monthly wages, effectively turning enforcement into a standing budget line rather than an ad hoc intervention.
Deployments span mining hotspots across the Western, Western North, Eastern, Ashanti, Central, Volta, Northern and Savannah zones, including communities along the Black Volta and Pra basins.
The guards are unarmed. Their mandate is surveillance, reporting and environmental protection.
“They are the eyes and ears,” Anyimah says. “When something happens, we know immediately. Then NAIMOS and the security agencies move in.”
That coordination with the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) is central to the model.
“Illegal mining thrives in gaps,” he adds. “If enforcement disappears for two weeks, they return. So we are making sure there is always someone on the ground.”he said.
Beyond gold: widening the net
While public debate focuses largely on gold, Anyimah argues the damage runs deeper.
Illegal sand winning, particularly along the Volta Basin, has destabilised riverbanks and farmland, often with little scrutiny.
“People think it is only about gold,” he says. “But sand winning can be just as destructive. Our responsibility covers all minerals.”
For the Commission, protecting licensed operators is equally important.
“When we issue a licence, we must protect it. Otherwise, the entire regulatory framework loses credibility.”
Embracing Technology
Alongside manpower, the Commission is leaning heavily on technology.
Historically, excavators and earth-moving machines could be moved from legal concessions to illegal sites with little oversight. That loophole is being closed.
More than 2,000 heavy-duty machines are now being tracked through a digital monitoring system, with 3,000 additional trackers being procured.
Under proposed amendments to the Minerals and Mining Act 703, excavators must be registered and geofenced to specific concessions. Once equipment moves outside authorised boundaries, alerts are triggered and operations can be halted.
“If an excavator leaves its permitted site, we know immediately,” Anyimah says. “That is usually the first sign of illegal activity.”
Explosives trucks are also being monitored — a measure shaped partly by lessons from the Appiatse disaster.
For Anyimah, the shift is simple: “We are moving from reacting after the damage is done to preventing it in real time.”
Making mining more investible
Enforcement is only half the story.
The government is also trying to make Ghana more attractive to responsible investors by reducing geological uncertainty.
The Ghana Geological Survey Department – a key agency the Minister of Lands is dedicated to assisting as he is bent on getting funding for them, so it can be supported to undertake nationwide mapping and prospecting, producing credible data on ore bodies that can shorten exploration timelines – Mr. Anyimah pointed out.
“The gold is there,” Anyimah says. “But investors need reliable data. When you have that, you lower risk and attract serious capital.”
He adds that even in the small scale sector, there is commitment from government to support ; “As I speak to you, GoldBod has come to Minerals Commission and we have given them a block out area and we have given to the Ghana Geological Survey Department to do prospecting for them.
You also need traceability of where the gold is coming from, so it is a whole coordinated effort and the Minister remains serious about this to know where the data is. The vision of the President and the Minister will ensure a lot of investors come in.”
For. Mr. Anyimah, the government through the lands minister alongside his CEO, Isaac Andrews Tandoh at the Minerals Commission are keen on traceability.
He reckons that traceability will enhance investor confidence via Environment Social Governance compliance
It will help reduced risk, as it will identify and mitigate risks associated with child labor, human rights abuses, and environmental damage. Investors seeking to avoid reputational and legal risks prefer jurisdictions where they can trace the gold and verify it was mined responsibly.
Further, there is Alignment with Global Standards: By enabling compliance with international standards (e.g., OECD Due Diligence Guidance, Responsible Jewellery Council), traceable supply chains assure international buyers that the gold is ethically sourced.
Officials believe better geological intelligence, coupled with stricter enforcement, could help formalise production and raise state revenues at a time when gold is central to the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
Importantly, a key policy shift aimed at promoting sustainable and accountable mining is the introduction of Responsible Cooperative Mining — a model designed to empower communities to collectively own and manage mining operations.
Explaining the concept, he said the goal is to move miners away from water bodies and environmentally sensitive areas by allocating properly designated concessions to organised community groups.
“We want to get a place for people to mine so they can leave the water bodies. A community should have a defined area to operate, so we know the source of the gold and where it is coming from. With the cooperative mining concept, it aligns with the GoldBod’s traceability policy. Because the operations are well organised and community-based, GoldBod can easily identify where the gold is coming from.”
Under the initiative, the Ministry and the Minerals Commission allocate concessions to registered community cooperatives, regulate their activities and ensure mining is conducted responsibly within approved zones. The structured system, he noted, improves oversight, formalises small-scale mining and allows gold to be traced directly to its source — a critical step in curbing illegal operations and sanitising the supply chain.
He added that the broader policy direction also advances Ghana’s push for greater national ownership in the sector. As part of that effort, the government has reached an agreement with Gold Fields to take over operations of the Damang mine in April 2026, when the current transitional lease expires, paving the way for 100 per cent Ghanaian ownership. The move follows the government’s earlier decision to reject the company’s lease renewal application in April 2025.
Local participation and jobs
The reforms are also designed to deepen local participation.
Through local content policies and support services permitting, Ghanaian firms are increasingly supplying catering, logistics, equipment and labour to major mines — keeping more value within the domestic economy.
“I must acknowledge that the previous government did very well in this area, and that deserves commendation. In politics, we should be honest enough to applaud good work where it has been done.
They pushed the local content agenda quite forcefully, under the leadership of our former CEO, Martin Ayisi. I commend him for that achievement — ensuring that Ghanaians are placed at the centre of mining activities in their own country.
As a result, we have seen meaningful reforms, particularly in the large-scale mining sector. Today, managing directors of major mining companies are required to be Ghanaians.”Mr. Anyimah said.
The Blue Water Guard itself has created hundreds of jobs for young people in mining communities.
Meanwhile, Anyimah alongside his CEO, Isaac Andrews Tandoh are pushing to decentralise the Commission’s footprint by establishing district-level offices in active mining areas.
“Regulation works best when you are close to the operations,” he says. “If we are present locally, we respond faster and engage communities better.”
The offices are expected to create technical and administrative roles, including placements for graduates from UMAT and KNUST.
Strengthening the institution
Anyimah’s remit also includes the less visible work of institutional housekeeping.
Recovering outstanding licence fees and statutory debts, tightening financial controls and strengthening HR capacity are priorities he sees as critical to sustainability.
“If the Commission is financially strong, we can fund enforcement ourselves,” he says. “You cannot regulate effectively without resources.”
He credits the backing of the President, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, and the Commission’s Chief Executive for giving the secretariat the latitude to act.
“The leadership has been clear and supportive. That alignment makes execution easier.”
A longer game
After years of stop-start campaigns, Anyimah’s focus is on durability.
The Blue Water Guard, NAIMOS and other enforcement structures, he argues, should ultimately be anchored in legislation to protect them from political cycles.
For him, success is not measured in dramatic raids but in quieter signals: fewer incursions, improved turbidity levels in some rivers and a growing sense that regulation is becoming routine.
Available data from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources show marked improvements in turbidity levels across several major water bodies, signalling progress in efforts to restore Ghana’s rivers.
At River Tano Sefwi, turbidity dropped sharply from 139 NTU in 2024 to 14 NTU in 2025 — an 89 per cent reduction. Barekese recorded a fall from 22 to 11 NTU, representing a 50 per cent improvement.
River Ankobra at Domenase also saw levels decline from 2,870 to 1,927 NTU, a 32 per cent reduction.
Similarly, River Densu at Mangoase improved significantly, with turbidity falling from 129 to 34 NTU, a 73 per cent drop. At Tano-Tanoso, levels edged down from 10 to 9 NTU, while Ankobra at Ampasie recorded one of the steepest improvements, dropping from 1,500 to 520 NTU — a 65 per cent reduction.
The figures point to steady gains in water quality across key basins.
“You cannot solve this with one operation,” he says. “You build systems, and the systems do the work.”
If there is a legacy he hopes to leave, it is institutional rather than personal — a Commission present in every mining district, financially disciplined, technologically equipped and capable of enforcing the rules consistently.
“If we get the foundations right,” he says, “the sector will generate revenue, protect the environment and benefit future generations.”
In Ghana’s long battle against galamsey, that steady, administrative approach may prove more effective than any headline-grabbing crackdown.
