The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Tano North has taken decisive and hands-on steps to combat illegal mining activities in the municipality, the Communication Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the area, Frederick Achaa, has said.

He noted that prior to the NDC’s assumption of power, an anti-galamsey task force was established by the previous government through a collaboration between the Tano North Municipal Assembly and Newmont Gold Mining Company to prevent illegal mining operations.

Speaking in an interview with Ama Konadu on ‘Adea Akye Abia’ morning show at Sompa FM-Sunyani, Mr. Achaa highlighted the MCE’s active involvement in efforts to curb galamsey, noting that the fight against illegal mining has been a continuous process involving multiple stakeholders.

“Before the NDC came to power, there was already an anti-galamsey task force in place, working in collaboration with the municipal assembly and Newmont Gold Mining to prevent people from engaging in galamsey in Tano North,” Mr. Achaa explained.

He said the situation, however, worsened at a point, prompting the MCE to personally intervene.

“As galamsey activities escalated, the MCE took it upon himself to go to the site with the task force to get first-hand information about what was actually happening on the ground,” he stated.

According to Mr. Achaa, that visit led to tangible results. “Through those operations, they managed to seize two excavators that were being used for illegal mining,” he said.

Mr. Achaa further revealed that the MCE later involved the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) to strengthen enforcement efforts.

“For the first time, the MCE took NAIMOS to the site on 25th November 2025 to carry out operations against galamsey activities,” he noted.

He said the intervention initially led to a decline in illegal mining, but the situation later resurfaced.

“After some time, galamsey operations went down, but unfortunately they escalated again,” Mr. Achaa disclosed. “On 17th January 2026, the MCE once again alerted NAIMOS about the rise in galamsey activities, and they came to spend two days at the site to clamp down on the operations.”

Mr. Achaa indicated that the sustained efforts are beginning to yield positive environmental results, particularly in the state of water bodies in the area.

“Right now, the clearance of the Tano water is far better than it was earlier, and this shows that the measures being taken are working,” he said.

He reaffirmed the NDC’s commitment to protecting the environment and urged residents to support the MCE and security agencies in the ongoing fight against illegal mining in Tano North.

Sompaonline.com/Derrick Djan