Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Lands Minister, has told NAIMOS officials tasked with fighting illegal mining commonly known as galamsey to defend themselves, no matter what it takes.
The Lands Minister told NAIMOS officials that should anybody decide to stand in their way, they have every right to defend themselves.
Kofi Buah made this known while acknowledging that individuals involved in illegal mining are dangerous and would not hesitate to cause harm to security officials.
According to the Lands Minister, NAIMOS officials should not hesitate to defend themselves, regardless of the circumstances in their fight against illegal mining.
Speaking in a video shared on Metro TV, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah stated, “You saw how dangerous some of these folks are, and let me commend our patriotic soldiers. You have my complete instruction: you have every right to defend yourself. If anybody decides that they will stand in your way, you have every right to defend yourself”.
“But we will win this fight because our children and the next generation must live. And we have a responsibility to live in this protected forest that gives us air, that gives us water for the next generation. We are not stopping. We are coming to get you wherever you are hiding in the deepest forest.
“Because we are determined to protect our forest. We are determined to protect the source of our water. We are determined to protect the source of our health, our environment. This is a fight for every well-meaning Ghanaian. It’s a fight for our lifetime. And we will win.”
Meanwhile, Sammy Gyamfi, the Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, has said formalising such unlicensed artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs) ‘galamseyers’ is a better approach to fighting illegal mining than chasing them with soldiers.
According to Sammy Gyamfi, the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) is an ASM formalisation initiative aimed at transforming such unlicensed ASMs into licensed and responsible ASMs to promote sustainability in the sector.
He argued that the Goldbod holds the view that properly organised small-scale mining offers one of the clearest pathways from mineral ownership in law to indigenous ownership in practice.
In a statement on his social media page on X, Sammy Gyamfi wrote, “1. There are three (3) forms of unlicensed artisanal and small-scale mining operations that are irredeemably wrong and can neither be tolerated nor reformed.
* Mining that impacts water bodies
* Mining in forest reserves
* Mining in obscene places in communities such as road sides, school lands, bedrooms etc. that pose dangers to society and public health
2. Once artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs) are not mining in a forest reserve, a water body or an obscene place that negatively impacts the environment, that mineralised area, even if unlicensed, meets the eligibility requirement of FORMALIZATION and can be declared as fit for cooperative mining under the government’s “Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP). I maintain that formalising such unlicensed ASMs is a better approach than chasing them with soldiers. The rCOMSDEP is an ASM formalisation initiative aimed at transforming such unlicensed ASMs into licensed and responsible ASMs to promote sustainability in the sector.
3. The small portion of the video that has been mischievously cut and is being circulated leaves out important details of my explanation of what government is willing to do to support the formalisation of such unlicensed ASMs to ensure that they have the appropriate legal documentation, certifications, permits and training for sustainable small-scale mining.
4. ASM formalisation and traceability is the new paradigm shift of Ghana’s quest towards sustainability in the ASM sector. The provision of formalisation, training and financing support for ASMs whose activities do not negatively impact water bodies, forest reserves or obscene places in our communities to bring them into the formal and responsible mining economy, is a crucial imperative for the fight against irresponsible mining and our national quest to promote sustainability in the mining sector.
5. As I noted in my keynote address at the just-ended Mining in Motion summit on “ASM Formalisation; the new paradigm”;
“…….regulation must be firm, but also practical, inclusive and commercially sound. Reform will endure only when compliance becomes a pathway to opportunity rather than hardships. Mining regulations must therefore do more than police miners; they must formalise, build capacities and create opportunities for young Africans in the mining and trading ecosystem. I believe that with proper formalisation, financing support and training, Artisanal and Small-scale mining can support livelihoods, generate foreign exchange, strengthen reserves, grow indigenous enterprise and advance national development sustainably.”
“We at the GoldBod hold the view that properly organised small-scale mining offers one of the clearest pathways from mineral ownership in law to indigenous ownership in practice. Supported by modern technology and sound engineering, the sector can optimise recovery rates, reduce waste, improve safety, preserve the environment and create productive opportunities for young Africans.”
“This is why the GoldBod will next year roll out an ASM Formalisation and Financing Support Program (FFSP), in close collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the University of Mines and Technology and Rand Refinery, with the aim of sustainably ramping up gold production, mineral revenue and job creation, while reducing operational costs and environmental risks.”
Watch the video below:
“YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DEFEND YOURSELF” — LANDS MINISTER TO NAIMOS OFFICIALS Lands Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has charged NAIMOS officials to defend themselves during an anti-illegal mining crackdown in the Atewa Forest. #MetroTV #GhanaNews #NAIMOS #Galamsey #AtewaForest
— Metro TV Ghana (@metrotvgh) October 27, 2026
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