The government has deployed 453 personnel under the Blue Water Guard training programme to provide round-the-clock surveillance of Ghana’s rivers and water bodies, as part of efforts to tackle illegal mining. A second group of 532 personnel is set to complete training this week, Defence Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah has disclosed.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Monday, July 21, 2025, Dr Boamah said the Ghana Navy trained the first batch of personnel at the Forward Operating Base at Ezinlibo. The second batch, which began training last month, is expected to graduate and join operations this week.
Dr Boamah explained that the Blue Water Guard initiative is intended to monitor water bodies across the country, curb illegal mining activities, and support the restoration of Ghana’s polluted rivers and streams.
“The Blue Water Guard initiative aims to establish 24-hour monitoring of Ghana’s water bodies. It is a strategic intervention to tackle illegal mining activities, protect the environment, and restore Ghana’s polluted water resources,” he told the gathering.
According to Dr Boamah, the programme is part of efforts to ensure that mining in Ghana is done responsibly and does not damage the country’s natural resources. He said the Ghana Armed Forces have also played a supporting role in the broader anti-galamsey operations.
He noted that some forest reserves, previously inaccessible to forest guards, were recovered earlier this year through the intervention of the armed forces.
The Navy, he added, has worked alongside land forces under Operation Halt II to confront illegal mining along River Ankobra in the Western and Western North regions. River patrols under Operation Oasis have also been conducted along the Volta River to help reduce illegal activity on the Black Volta.
Dr Boamah said the establishment of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) followed a review of ongoing efforts to tackle illegal mining across the country.
“We are not out of the woods yet as a nation. But there is hope because there is political will at the very top,” he said.
The Blue Water Guard programme, launched on March 17, 2025, is intended to strengthen patrols and security along Ghana’s inland waters and riverine zones.
