President John Dramani Mahama has announced a tougher approach to protecting Ghana’s cleared forest reserves, saying military personnel will remain stationed in reclaimed areas to prevent illegal miners from returning.
The President said the decision was necessary because previous efforts to clear forest reserves of illegal miners often failed after the areas were handed back to civilian authorities.
Speaking during his “Resetting Ghana Tour” of the Upper East Region, President Mahama said the government had made progress in removing illegal miners from several forest reserves but faced the challenge of maintaining control over the reclaimed areas.
He explained that the government had initially relied on the Forestry Commission to protect cleared reserves but had to reconsider the approach after illegal miners repeatedly returned.
“What we initially did was that we handed the places to the Forestry Commission after clearing them, but the illegal miners don’t fear the forest guards, and so we now put a military detachment after we clear a forest reserve,” he said.
According to President Mahama, nearly 49 forest reserves had been invaded by illegal miners, prompting intensified government operations to reclaim the affected areas.
He said the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) had been instrumental in the enforcement campaign, with security teams seizing excavators and changfang machines and driving illegal miners out of protected areas.
“NAIMOS is working very hard. We have seized excavators, we have seized Changfang machines, and we have driven illegal miners out of this area, and we are making progress,” the President stated.
Government accepts higher cost of enforcement
President Mahama acknowledged that maintaining military detachments in forest reserves would increase government expenditure, particularly on feeding personnel and providing the logistics required to sustain their operations.
He nevertheless argued that the additional cost was necessary to prevent reclaimed forest reserves from being reoccupied by illegal miners.
“That means we will have to spend more money to feed the soldiers and provide logistics for them to continue to stay in the forest, but we will not give up the fight,” he said.
The President’s comments signal a shift from short-term enforcement operations towards sustained occupation of reclaimed areas as part of the government’s strategy against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The government believes the continued presence of security personnel will serve as a deterrent and prevent illegal miners from taking advantage of gaps in security after enforcement teams withdraw.
Protecting forests and water bodies
Illegal mining remains a major environmental concern, particularly in Ghana’s forest reserves and areas surrounding major water bodies.
The government has linked the intensified operations to the need to protect the country’s forest cover and water resources from further degradation.
By keeping military personnel in cleared reserves, the administration hopes to prevent the cycle in which illegal miners are removed during enforcement operations only to return once security forces leave.
President Mahama maintained that despite the financial implications of the strategy, his administration would sustain the campaign.
The decision means that the government’s anti-galamsey strategy will increasingly depend not only on clearing illegal miners from protected areas but also on ensuring that reclaimed lands remain protected after enforcement operations are completed.
