Changfans on River Tano have reduced thanks to NAIMOS – NAIMOS Spokesperson

The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) says the number of changfan machines operating on the River Tano has reduced significantly following sustained enforcement under its Operation Water Shield campaign against illegal mining. In a Facebook post on Friday, October 30, 2026, the NAIMOS spokesperson, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, said a team of 15 journalists had accompanied officials to the river earlier in the day to assess the impact of the operation. He said the visit gave the journalists an opportunity to observe and independently assess the progress of the anti-galamsey campaign along the river and its surrounding areas. “The most crucial development to report is that changfans on River Tano HAVE GREATLY REDUCED,” Mr Schandorf wrote, crediting the sustained operations led by the Director of Operations at NAIMOS, Colonel K. S. Appiah.

Sustained operations Mr Schandorf said NAIMOS would maintain surveillance on the Tano and other critical water sources as the government pursued efforts to restore polluted water bodies to their natural state. He cautioned, however, that the reduction in mining equipment did not mean the river had already been restored to its original condition. “The destruction of hundreds of changfans on the Tano River doesn’t immediately make it pure, but it’s a crucial starting point,” he said. He added that further measures would be taken under the leadership of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to protect and restore affected water bodies. Operation Water Shield Operation Water Shield is a sustained, intelligence-led enforcement campaign launched by NAIMOS in September 2026 to protect major rivers, watersheds and other critical water resources from illegal mining. The campaign seeks to move…