Member of Parliament for Wa West, Peter Lanchene Toobu, has described the GH¢150 million allocation in the 2026 budget for the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) as insufficient.
Speaking in an interview on TV3 monitored by GhanaWeb on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, he said, “GH¢150 million for NAIMOS, that is just in the budget. And I’m quite sure that it is too small. Looking at the volume of what they have to do, and their mandate, I’m sure in the media budget review, the Minister of Finance will do something about it.”
Toobu called for urgent action to strengthen Ghana’s fight against illegal mining, widely known as galamsey.
He proposed increasing NAIMOS personnel and equipping them with the necessary tools and resources.
“Raise the strength to 1,000, give them full retooling, provide enough resources, and define a clear mandate with timelines. Soldiers can be trained for war and never see battle, but the galamsey menace is destroying our country. If we want the armed forces to succeed in enforcement, we must give them the tools, resources, and a defined timeline,” he stated.
NAIMOS is a special-purpose unit established under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) to coordinate, monitor, and lead intelligence-driven field operations against illegal mining activities across Ghana.
It serves as the operational nerve center for Ghana’s fight against illegal small-scale mining and its associated environmental destruction, particularly in water bodies and forest reserves.
The unit embodies Ghana’s coordinated response to the scourge of illegal mining, integrating security, environmental, and legal measures into a unified operational strategy.
