Axim, Western Region – September 19, 2025 – The Government of Ghana has announced plans to establish a permanent military base along the Ankobra River as part of an intensified campaign against illegal mining, locally known as galamsey.
The decision follows a high-level inspection on Thursday, September 18, led by Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson, the Western Regional Security Council, and the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS).
River Devastated by Illegal Mining
The delegation travelled by canoe from Gwira Wiaso to Gwira Akango, where they witnessed extensive destruction: cocoa farms converted into mining pits, makeshift settlements in a notorious galamsey hub nicknamed “Chinese Town,” and hundreds of abandoned chanfans and pumps clogging the river. Once clear, the Ankobra now runs thick and milky brown.
A visibly distressed Minister Buah described the devastation as a national crisis.
“If this is not war, then I don’t see anything. We will not relent. We will not stop. We will fight until this water is restored,” he declared. “That is why we are working with the President’s directive to deploy permanently the military and security forces along our river bodies.”
Military Presence to “Hold the Ground”
Captain Nana Kweku Owusu Domme, leader of NAIMOS, backed the initiative, stressing that intermittent raids have proven ineffective.
“This cannot be solved by one-off raids. We need to actually come and establish a base here to hold the ground. Some of these miners know we just come, conduct operations, and withdraw. Coming to stay here will be best. Then they will know we have come to stay.”
New Regulatory Measures
Minister Buah further revealed that government intends to expand the buffer zone along rivers from 100 metres to one kilometre, closing loopholes exploited by miners who discharge toxic chemicals directly into water bodies.
A Tougher Phase in the Fight
For years, residents have lamented the Ankobra’s worsening pollution, but the inspection exposed destruction “far worse than imagined.” The announcement of a permanent military base signals what government calls a tougher, uncompromising phase in its fight to reclaim Ghana’s rivers from the grip of galamsey.
Source – My News Ghana
