MMDCEs Must Lead Galamsey Fight At Local Level – Lands Minister
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has charged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to take ownership of the fight against illegal mining in their respective jurisdictions.
Addressing the maiden National Conference for MMDCEs on illegal Small-scale Mining in Kumasi on Monday, November 2, 2026, Hon. Buah said the battle against galamsey cannot be won by the Ministry or security agencies alone.
“We have gathered here this morning at this conference to discuss one critical sector of our mining industry, namely illegal mining,” he noted. “This meeting is not merely an administrative gathering but a call to collective responsibility and decisive action.”
He stressed that the fight requires “leadership, commitment, courage and sustained engagement” from local authorities, noting that illegal mining has become a serious national security threat with devastating consequences for the environment, public health, food security, water resources and local economies.
Hon. Buah said enforcement operations by the Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Armed Forces and other authorised security institutions must be supported by effective local governance.
“When NAIMOS conducts operations in a district, the Assembly must be prepared to assist with local information, logistical coordination within its lawful capacity, community engagement and follow-up monitoring,” he said.
He proposed that every mining-affected Assembly should establish or strengthen a district-level anti-illegal-mining coordination mechanism involving relevant decentralised departments, regulatory bodies, security agencies and community representatives.
Where cooperative mining or other approved arrangements are available, he said Assemblies should help communicate the opportunities and requirements to interested communities.
In his welcome address, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, said the conference is timely and will truly speak to the hearts of all stakeholders, adding that the courage being displayed by the administration of President John Dramani Mahama in the fight against illegal mining cannot be overstated.
Hon. Buah assured that the government will remain committed to confronting illegal mining, strengthening responsible mining practices with new mining sector reforms and protecting the environment for sustainable national development, warning that “History will remember whether we protected our rivers or allowed them to be destroyed, whether we preserved our forests or watched them disappear.”
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