Private legal practitioner Kofi Bentil has argued that Ghana’s struggle against illegal small-scale mining, popularly called galamsey, has escalated beyond what the police or civilian authorities can handle.
Bentil described the galamsey menace as a deeply entrenched and well-armed criminal enterprise that requires a far more aggressive and coordinated national response.
“I still hold the view that we will never win the fight against galamsey because it has become an organised international crime being perpetrated by armed bandits,” he said on The Key Points on TV3.
Bentil maintained that the illegal mining networks now operate like cartels, with access to heavy weapons, vast financial backing, and connections that undermine local enforcement.
He, however, commended the establishment of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) as a step in the right direction but insisted that the effort must be intensified.
“So far the only thing that looks like a serious intervention is the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS). We should be doing NAIMOS+,” he stated.
NAIMOS was set up as part of the government’s renewed efforts to combat illegal mining, which continues to devastate river bodies and farmlands across the country.
According to Lands Minister Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, the secretariat serves as a central command hub to coordinate the operations of the military, police, and other security agencies engaged in the nationwide clampdown on galamsey.
