A member of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Communications Team, Alfred Thompson, has expressed deep concern over the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, indicating that the government seems to have lost control over the fight.
His comment comes amid a recent mob attack on the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) at Hwidiem for the arrest of some illegal miners and seizure of their vehicles and equipment.
Speaking on Breakfast daily on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, Mr Thompson, who described galamsey as a national security threat, said, “It’s sad that day upon day, year upon year, we come back, we sit here all the time, we talk about galamsey and government upon government, we can’t fight it.
“It is really becoming sad, and to me, it is a national security issue. It is a national security issue and the people who will fight it are been fought. We are in trouble.”
The incident occurred on Saturday, November 1, 2025, when the Director of Operations of NAIMOS and his team were attacked at Hwidiem.
The confrontation followed the arrest of two men by the NAIMOS task force at a mining site near Hwidiem, along with the seizure of vehicles and equipment. The arrests reportedly triggered outrage among residents, who later besieged the local police station demanding the release of the suspects and impounded vehicles.
The Member of Parliament for Asutifi North, Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, is alleged to have incited the mob and obstructed the NAIMOS team.
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has invited him to assist in investigations on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
