The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat has called for increased logistical and financial support to strengthen its operations against illegal mining.
The men and women fighting Ghana’s galamsey menace need more than resolve; they need resources.
That was the candid message from Col. Dominic Buah, Director of Operations at the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), as he addressed journalists at the Secretariat’s Editors’ Forum and Quarterly Press Briefing on Wednesday, March 25.
Standing before the gathering, Col. Buah did not mince words. The fight against illegal mining, he made clear, is being waged with one hand tied behind its back. Operational vehicles are in short supply, funds are stretched thin, and the tools needed to sustain the campaign in the field are simply not enough.
“We need vehicles, we need money, we need all the resources,” he said plainly.
His appeal was directed not only at the government but at the private sector and civil society as well. Col. Buah urged corporate organisations and non-governmental bodies to step in and fill the gap, offering a straightforward incentive: public recognition.
“Corporate bodies who want to support, why not? We will acknowledge you and then make it known to the whole nation,” he said, framing contributions as both a patriotic duty and an opportunity for goodwill.
But the briefing was not all about stretched budgets and resource gaps. Col. Buah had a sharper message for a different audience, the illegal miners themselves.
NAIMOS’s operations in the field have not gone unchallenged. In several mining communities, anti-galamsey task force members have met with resistance, raising serious concerns about the safety of personnel on the ground. Col. Buah addressed this directly and without ambiguity.
He warned that his operatives would not stand down in the face of armed confrontation. The Secretariat’s personnel, he stressed, are trained, equipped, and prepared to defend themselves, and anyone who tests that readiness will face the full consequences.
“We will not stand and watch anyone use weapons against us. We are better trained in weapons and therefore warn that anybody who dares, NAIMOS will deal with them ruthlessly,” he declared.
He pressed the point further, leaving no room for misinterpretation: “It is a problem we are trying to address, and we have the right to self-defence, and let no galamseyer miss that. If you go to the field with weapons and you try to fire them, a lot more will be at you.”
The message from NAIMOS on Wednesday was twofold: a hand extended to potential partners and a firm warning to those who would stand in the way of the law. The Secretariat is asking for help, but it is also making clear it will not be intimidated.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com